The association of the Bolsa Familia Program with children's oral health in Brazil

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Paola Calvasina1, Patricia O'Campo2,3, Mateus Mota Pontes4

  • 1Young Talents for Science Program - CAPES, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ-Brazil) Ceará Office, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. paolagcal@gmail.com.

BMC Public Health
|October 21, 2018
PubMed

Insights

The Brazilian Bolsa Familia Program (BFP) was associated with lower dental caries in five-year-olds, especially among the extremely poor. However, overall childhood cavities remain a public health concern requiring targeted interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Pediatric Dentistry
  • Socioeconomic Determinants of Health

Background:

  • Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs, like the Brazilian Bolsa Familia Program (BFP), are known to reduce poverty and improve child mortality.
  • Research has not previously explored the impact of CCT programs on children's oral health outcomes.
  • This study investigates the relationship between BFP participation and the oral health status of young children in Brazil.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between receiving the Bolsa Familia Program (BFP) and the prevalence of dental caries in five-year-old children.
  • To identify factors related to dental caries among children participating in the BFP in Northeast Brazil.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study was conducted in Fortaleza, Brazil, in 2016.
  • 230 caregivers and their five-year-old children were randomly selected from primary health care clinics.
  • Data collection involved interviews, oral health examinations, descriptive statistics, and multiple logistic regression analysis.

Main Results:

  • Approximately 40% of children in the study had dental caries.
  • Children receiving the Bolsa Familia (BF) for up to two years showed significantly lower odds of dental caries (OR=0.13).
  • The protective association between BF and dental caries was stronger in extremely poor families (OR=0.05).

Conclusions:

  • Initial enrollment in the BFP is linked to reduced dental caries in five-year-olds.
  • Despite this association, the prevalence of dental caries remains high, necessitating targeted public health interventions.
  • Efforts are crucial to decrease oral health disparities among Brazilian children.
Abstract

Keywords:
BrazilChildrenConditional cash transferOral health

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