LAUSR

BACKGROUND Pain is a major consequence of caries, which negatively impacts the quality of life of children and their families. AIM To analyze the parental report of dental pain and discomfort in preschool children, and to identify clinical and sociodemographic factors associated. DESIGN This cross-sectional study involved 375 four- and five-year-old preschoolers enrolled in the city of Campo Magro public school system, along with their parents and caregivers. Parents/ caregivers answered the Brazilian version of the Dental Discomfort Questionnaire (DDQ-B) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Two examiners (kappa> 0.79) performed clinical examinations using dmf-t and pufa index. The associations were statistically analyzed by univariate and multiple Poisson regression with robust variance (α=0.05). RESULTS The prevalence of dental pain and discomfort was 70.3% (66% to 75% 95%CI). Children from non-nuclear families (PRa 1.33; 95%CI 1.01-1.76) and whose parents presented a lower level of education (PRa 2.43; 95%CI 1.66-3.55) presented a higher prevalence of dental pain or discomfort. Considering the clinical determinants, after adjusting, only the presence of clinical consequences of untreated dental caries (pufa≥1) (PRa 1.37; 95%CI 1.02-1.84) were significantly associated with higher dental pain or discomfort. CONCLUSIONS Dental pain and discomfort were associated with socioeconomic factors and with the presence of clinical consequences of untreated dental caries.