OBJECTIVES: the purpose was to investigate the prevalence and the association between social and environmental variables and the children malocclusion. METHODS: the population for this cross-sectional study comprised 360 families (415 schoolchildren) resident in six areas where the Family Health Program is running in Salvador in the Brazilian State of Bahia. The dental examinations were carried out using criteria identifying the presence and type of malloclusion and a structured interview conducted with children's mothers or guardians. "Document A" and CAGE were used to report the social and environmental variables. Logistic regression (stepwise forward procedure, p<0.05) analyses were performed. RESULTS: the prevalence of malocclusion was 34.5%. Most families (77.2%) lived in dwellings with thick partition walls. Exclusive breastfeeding rates were 64.8% and of these, 50.6% for the duration of the first seven months of life or more. 89.6% did not have the habit of digital suction, but the use of a pacifier was registered in 47%. The multivariate analysis identified an association with malocclusion: the number of individuals aged under 14 years in the household (OR=1.44; 95%CI: 1.02 - 2.26), digital sucking (OR=1.75; 95%CI: 1.08-3.46) and the presence of alcoholism in the family (OR=1.22; 95%CI:1.04 - 2.02) CONCLUSIONS: access to oral health for these families can have a positive impact on oral health.
Family relations; Child, preschool; Malocclusion
