Abstract INTRODUCTION: This study assessed the quality of life (QoL) of people with HIV/AIDS. METHODS: This cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted at a specialized HIV/AIDS health facility of the Brazilian Public Health Service. Data were collected using the HIV/AIDS-Targeted Quality of Life (HAT-QoL) instrument. RESULTS: The study included 109 participants. Among the many significant statistical associations found in the study, the variables that had a greater effect on the domains assessed by the instrument were educational level, occupation, financial situation, ethnicity, and symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: Sociodemographic factors and HIV/AIDS-related aspects were influential in the QoL of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Este estudo transversal e descritivo objetivou verificar a prevalência de hábitos de sucção em pré-escolares e a percepção dos pais sobre a relação com a ocorrência de maloclusões. A população do estudo constituiu-se por uma amostra representativa de pais de pré-escolares de 4 meses a 6 anos de idade. Utilizou-se um questionário semiestruturado, composto por questões abertas e fechadas, referentes à frequência e conhecimentos dos pais frente aos hábitos de sucção não nutritivos. Dos 356 participantes da pesquisa, 70,8% afirmaram que as crianças apresentavam algum hábito bucal, sendo a sucção de chupeta o mais frequente (45,6%). Apesar da grande maioria dos pesquisados (97,1%) relatarem saber que os hábitos podiam causar prejuízo aos dentes, 70,2% deles já haviam oferecido chupeta à criança, na maioria das vezes para acalmá-la (61,8%). Houve associação estatisticamente significativa entre a oferta da chupeta à criança e o conhecimento sobre a relação da presença de hábitos não nutritivos e a ocorrência de maloclusão (p < 0,0001 e Qui-quadrado = 60,123). A prevalência de hábitos bucais na população estudada é alta e, apesar da maioria dos pais saberem que o hábito de sucção de chupeta pode causar danos à saúde bucal, ofertavam a chupeta a fim de acalmar a criança.

This cross-sectional and descriptive study sought to verify the prevalence of sucking habits in preschoolers and their parents' perception of its relationship with the occurrence of malocclusion. The population consisted of a representative sample of parents of preschoolers aged between 4 months and 6 years old. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was used, consisting of open and closed questions relating to frequency of use and knowledge of parents regarding non-nutritive sucking habits. Of the 356 respondents, 70.8% stated that the children had some oral habit, with pacifier sucking being the most frequent (45.6%). Although the majority (97.1%) of the parents or caregivers admitted being aware that these habits could be detrimental to teeth, 70.2% of the respondents had already offered a pacifier to children, in most cases to calm them (61.8%). There was a statistically significant association between offering a pacifier to a child and knowledge about the relationship of the existence of non-nutritive habits and the occurrence of malocclusion (p <0.0001 and Chi-square = 60.123). The conclusion is that the prevalence of oral habits of the population is high and, despite the majority of parents knowing that pacifier sucking can cause damage to oral health, they offer them to calm the child.

The relationship between mother and child in the context of oral health has traditionally been exposed by the scientific literature in microbiology, which lacks a broad and necessary discussion of health and illness seen as processes, both biological and social. Objective: Investigate the family social determinants associated with the caries history of children and the need for dental treatment (NDT) among their mothers was the objective of this study. Material and methods: This research employed a cross-sectional study of mother-child pairs living in southern Brazil. Data collection occurred in public institutions of early childhood education. The instruments included a structured questionnaire administered to mothers and clinical oral examinations of the mothers and children. The social variables considered were marital status, maternal education, number of children, income, employment status, and frequency of visits to a dental professional. The measured outcomes were the maternal NDT and child caries history. Data were analyzed by the chi-square test (χ2) and by discriminant analysis. Results: The final sample consisted of 272 mother-child pairs and it was found that the greatest need for treatment was among mothers with low educational level and low family income who rarely or never visited a dentist. Tooth decay was less frequent in only child, and most frequent in children of mothers with low educational attainment, and in children in lower income households who rarely or never visited the dentist. The social determinants of caries in children and of the maternal NDT were similar. It follows that the maternal NDT and caries history among children were strongly associated with maternal education (p<0.0001), household income (p<0.0001), and frequency of visits to a dental professional (0.0018). Caries history among children was also associated with number of children in the household (p<0.0001). Conclusions: The results suggest that the caries experience in children depended less on the family social variables than on the maternal NDT.