Family Cohesion Is Associated with the Self-Perceived Need for Dental Treatment among Adolescents

This study explored the association between family cohesion and self-perceived need for dental treatment among adolescents. A school-based representative cross-sectional study was conducted with 746 students aged 15 to 19 randomly selected from schools in Campina Grande, Brazil. Parents/guardians provided information on sociodemographic data, and students completed questionnaires about the self-perceived need for dental treatment, dental pain, and family cohesion and adaptability (FACES III). Two dentists were trained (kappa >0.80) to diagnosis dental caries using the Nyvad criteria and assess adolescents' level of functional oral health literacy (BREALD-30). Descriptive analysis was performed, followed by nonadjusted and adjusted robust binary logistic regression for complex samples (α = 5%). The prevalence of self-perceived need for dental treatment was 88.6%. The presence of dental caries (OR = 2.10; IC 95%: 1.22-3.61), tooth loss (OR = 15.81; IC 95%: 2.14-116.56), dental pain in the last six months (OR = 1.87; IC 95%: 1.06-3.31), and enmeshed family cohesion type (OR = 10.23; IC 95%: 3.96-26.4) remained associated with the self-perceived need for dental treatment in the final model. In conclusion, dental caries, dental pain, tooth loss, and family cohesion influenced the self-perceived need for dental treatment in adolescents.