Maternal Stress and Behavioral and Clinical Factors Associated with Dental Trauma in Schoolchildren

The purpose of this study was to evaluate associations between traumatic dental injury (TDI) and maternal stress and demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics of schoolchildren.

A cross-sectional investigation was conducted involving 396 eight- to 11- year-old schoolchildren in the city of Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Maternal stress and demographic and behavioral (breastfeeding and non-nutritive sucking habits) factors were evaluated using a questionnaire. Overjet and TDI were recorded by a dentist who underwent training and a calibration exercise. Hierarchically-adjusted Poisson regression models were employed to determine factors associated with TDI.

In the final regression model, the prevalence of TDI was 75 percent higher among schoolchildren who were breastfed for less than six months (prevalence ratio [PR]=1.75; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.16 to 2.66), 72 percent higher among those who engaged in finger-/thumb-sucking after three years of age (PR=1.72; 95% CI=1.16 to 2.56) and 91 percent among those with overjet greater than three mm (PR=1.91; 95% CI=1.29 to 2.84).

Breastfeeding duration, finger-/thumb-sucking and increased overjet were associated with TDI. These factors were aggravated by maternal stress, but it lost its significance in the multivariate analysis.