Perfil de crianças e adolescentes atendidos em serviço de urgência de instituição de ensino superior

Abstract

Introduction: Early access to dental care is extremely important for adequate children's oral health, but often, the first visit occurs in emergency situations. At the Emergency Dental Internship Clinic of the School of Dentistry at UFJF, care is provided without prior appointment, but little is known about the profile of the patients. Objective: To analyze the occurrence of dental emergencies and the sociodemographic profile of children and adolescents (0 to under 18 years old) treated at the Emergency Dental Internship Clinic of FO/UFJF. Methodology: Data were collected from 64 caregivers, including age, sex, and socioeconomic conditions, through a self-administered questionnaire. Results: The average age of patients was 9.58 years, with the majority being female (54.7%) and of non-white race/color (62.5%). Caregivers had an average age of 39.86 years, were mostly mothers (68.8%), married (45.3%), and had more than nine years of education (56.3%). Most (53.1%) had a low family income, and about 64.1% of the patients were visiting the service for the first time, while 17.2% had been treated before. Only five patients had a regular dentist outside the institution. Additionally, the main reasons for the absence of regular dental visits were financial difficulties (43.8%) and seeking care only in cases of pain or specific problems (26.6%). In the past 12 months, 62.5% had received some dental care, mainly at FO/UFJF (32.8%), with dental caries being the primary reason (23.4%); however, only 32.8% of treatments were completed. Moreover, the main causes of emergency visits at the time of the interview were dental caries requiring restorative treatment (37.5%), pain (17.2%), and endodontic involvement (14.1%). The majority of caregivers (65.6%) considered the case an emergency due to pain. In 87.5% of cases, the reason for the visit was addressed on the same day and, in addition to specific treatment, care included medication prescriptions (12.5%), radiographic examinations (59.4%), and referrals (51.6%). Conclusion: Most patients belonged to low-income families and sought the service primarily due to dental caries and pain. The Emergency Dental Internship Clinic at FO/UFJF was effective and demonstrated a high resolution rate on the day of the emergency consultation.