BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Knowing factors associated with dental pain is important to provide adequate intervention and attention to this major health care problem. This study aimed at understanding the prevalence of dental pain as reason for the latest dental appointment among 15-year old adolescents and at checking its association with socioeconomic factors, behavioral variables and oral health. METHOD: The probabilistic sample was made up of 592 students of 10 state schools. Dental pain variable was evaluated by questionnaires applied at the school. Clinical oral exam was performed according to World Health Organization's criteria and remaining variables were investigated by self-applicable questionnaires. Data were classified by the Excel program and Odds Ratio was used to associate variables. RESULTS: From 592 participants, 33.44% have reported dental pain as reason for their latest dental appointment. After statistical analysis, dental pain was associated with low income (p = 0.04), higher number of people living in the same home (p < 0.01), low frequency of daily tooth brushing (p = 0.01), long interval between dental appointments (p < 0.001), longer time elapsed since last dental appointment (p < 0.001), dental anxiety (p < 0.01), consumption of cariogenic food (p = 0.03), high dental caries experience (p < 0.01) and with the presence of untreated dental caries (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Dental pain is related to dental caries experience and activity and to socioeconomic and psychosocial factors, showing the need for further attention to these conditions.
Adolescent's behavior; Dental pain; Oral health; Social conditions
