Oral health, access to services, and self-esteem in working adolescentes

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate and compare periodontal condition, access to dental services, self-esteem, and sense of coherence of adolescents in labor market (AMT group) with adolescents who do not work (ANMT group). Material and method: A cross-sectional, quantitative, and analytical study was conducted with 98 adolescents (AMT-n=48; ANMT-n=50), aged 15 to 17 years. Information on sociodemographic characteristics and access to dental services was collected through interviews. Periodontal condition was assessed by Community Periodontal Index, self-esteem by Rosenberg scale, and sense of coherence by SOC-13 scale. Result: Majority of oral sextants presented gingival bleeding (60.37%). AMT group presented more healthy sextants (p=0.0161) and fewer sextants with periodontal pockets of 4-5mm (p=0.0018). 69.39% of adolescents reported experience of dental pain; 78.57% had a dental appointment in the last year; however, 4.08% had never consulted a dentist. 57.45% of adolescents had their last dental appointment in a public service, with 79.79% for prevention. There was no association between labor market integration, history of dental pain, and access to dental services. Self-esteem was higher in the AMT group (p=0.0011), while there was no difference in sense of coherence (p=0.2555). Conslusion: It is concluded that the AMT group presented better periodontal health and higher self-esteem compared to ANMT group.