Social-dental and social representation aspects of dental caries in the mother-child context

Objectives: To investigate social and dental maternal characteristics related to the child’s caries experience and to verify the social representation of mothers with regard to the oral health-illness process. Methods: The sample consisted of 272 pairs of mothers and children who attending public institutions of early childhood education in Ponta Grossa city. The information of interest was collected through a structured, oral clinical examination and semi-structured interview. The test used for statistical analysis was a chi-square for independence. Results: The results confirmed the association between the mothers’ need for treatment and the children’s dental caries experience as well as their relationship with socio-economic variables. Education, income, number of children and frequency of visits to the dentist were the variables that showed statistical significance. Conclusion: Unfavorable maternal social inclusion, the number of children the mother has, their need for dental treatment and their frequency of visits to the dentist were associated with the children’s dental caries experience. Moreover, it appears that the mother’s social representations was an important tool for health information, and should be considered in the formulation of public policies.