Maltreatment and Dental Trauma in Preschool Children: A Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND

Child maltreatment (CM) has been associated with adverse oral health outcomes during childhood. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between CM and dental trauma (DT) in the primary dentition.

AIM: To evaluate the association between CM and DT at 4 years of age.

DESIGN

The sample comprised 4275 children from the 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort Study, southern Brazil. Overall CM from birth to age 4, as well as specific types of maltreatment ("physical abuse," "sexual abuse," "emotional abuse," "neglect," and "custodial interference"), were assessed using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire, completed by mothers when the children were 4 years old. DT was assessed at age 4 using the criteria of the UK Child Health Survey (1993). Bivariate analyses were conducted using the chi-square test, and crude and adjusted analyses were performed using Poisson regression models. Confounding variables with p < 0.250 in the crude analysis were included in the adjusted models.

RESULTS

Of the 3645 children evaluated, 11.4% had been exposed to some form of CM, and 20.2% presented with DT. In the adjusted analysis, no statistically significant association was found between DT and overall or specific types of CM.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large-sample study, no association was found between DT in the primary dentition and CM.