Perda precoce de molares permanentes e fatores associados em escolares de 9, 12 e 15 anos da rede pública municipal de Campina Grande, Estado da Paraíba, Brasil = Early loss of permanent molars and associated factors in schoolchildren aged 9, 12 and 15 years attending public schools in Campina Grande, Paraíba State, Brazil

Este estudo avaliou a perda precoce de molares permanentes em escolares da rede pública de Campina Grande, Estado da Paraíba, com idades de nove, 12 e 15 anos. A amostra compreendeu 873 escolares, aleatoriamente selecionados. O instrumento de coleta consistiu de um questionário e de uma ficha clínica. As variáveis do estudo compreenderam os aspectos relativos à perda dentária (tipo de elemento dental, localiza o na arcada dentária e a regi o do arco), à preven o e à autopercep o em saúde bucal. A análise estatística compreendeu a distribui o de frequências e os testes do Qui-quadrado e Exato de Fisher. Os resultados revelaram a prevalência de 17,2% de perda dentária, sem diferen as entre os sexos, frequência de escova o e palestra educativa (p > 0,05). Os elementos dentários 36 (42,5%) e 46 (33,9%) foram os mais frequentemente perdidos. Observou-se a associa o positiva entre perda dentária e as variáveis idade, visita ao cirurgi o-dentista (OR = 2,19; IC95%: 1,35-3,59), satisfa o com o sorriso (OR = 0,40; IC95%: 0,24-0,65) e a dificuldade na mastiga o (OR = 2,16; IC95%: 1,48- 3,16). Conclui-se que a prevalência da perda precoce de molares permanentes foi elevada, sendo necessária a imediata ado o de a es curativas a fim de reduzir a perda precoce desses elementos dentários. This study evaluate the early loss of permanent molars in schoolchildren aged 9, 12 and 15 years attending public schools in the city of Campina Grande, Paraíba State, Brazil. The sample was composed of 873 randomly selected schoolchildren. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire and a clinical chart. The following variables were analyzed: tooth loss (tooth type, localization in the dental arch and region of the arch), prevention and selfperception of oral health. The statistical analysis was done by frequency distribution and the chisquare and fisher’s exact tests were used. The results showed a prevalence of 17.2% of tooth losswithout differences between genders, toothbrushing frequency and attendance to educational lectures (p > 0.05). Teeth 36 (42.5%) and 46 (33.9%) were the most frequently lost. There was association between tooth loss and age, visit to the dentist (OR = 2.19, CI95% = 1.35-3.59), satisfaction with the smile (OR = 0.40, CI95% = 0.24-0.65) and chewing difficulty (OR = 2.16, IC95%: 1.48-3.16). It may be concluded that the prevalence of early loss of permanent molarswas high. It is therefore necessary to adopt immediate curative actions to reduce early tooth loss.