Do preschoolers with adverse birth outcomes have more distress during dental examination?
PURPOSE
Studies assessing the influence of neonatal complications on children's dental behaviour are lacking. We aimed to investigate whether prematurity, birth weight, and history of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalisation are associated with distress during dental examination in children.


METHODS
This preliminary longitudinal, retrospective study included 42 5- and 6-year-old children. Distress during dental examination was assessed using the observational FLACC Pain Assessment Tool through video files. Children self-reported their pain (Faces Pain Scale-Revised) at the end of the session. Information about neonatal complications was obtained through medical records. Bivariate analysis was performed (P < 0.05).


RESULTS
Children with low birth weight (P = 0.047) and toothache history (P = 0.005) had higher frequency of distress during dental examination. There was no association between distress, prematurity and history of NICU hospitalisation (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Health professionals can help to disseminate the knowledge that children with history of low birth weight are more prone to perceive distress with apparently painless procedures.
['Mundim|Ana Paula|AP|', 'Corrêa-Faria|Patrícia|P|', 'Costa|Luciane Rezende|LR|http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7637-0049']
D002648:Child D002652:Child Behavior D002675:Child, Preschool D003729:Dental Care D006801:Humans D010146:Pain D010147:Pain Measurement D012189:Retrospective Studies
Child preschool Dental care for children Infant low birth weight Intensive care neonatal Pain measurement