Țuțuianu Anamaria Violeta, Moca Abel Emanuel, Ștefănescu Teodora, Slăvescu Dan Alexandru, Șipoș Lucian Roman, Câlniceanu Horia, Ionel Anca
Department of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 10 Piața 1 Decembrie Street, 410073 Oradea, Romania.
Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Anton Sculean Research Center for Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases, Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timișoara, Romania.
Children (Basel). 2025 Sep 21;12(9):1266. doi: 10.3390/children12091266.
Dental neglect represents a preventable form of child maltreatment that may lead to significant oral and systemic health complications. This study primarily aimed to investigate the main oral manifestations and determinants of dental neglect in a pediatric population from Bihor County, Romania. Additionally, it assessed the association between systemic factors, such as nutritional status and psychological conditions, and the severity of oro-dental lesions, with the goal of informing future preventive strategies and public health interventions. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 333 pediatric patients diagnosed with dental neglect. Clinical data were collected from two centers between 2020 and 2024. Oral health status, socio-demographic characteristics, and psychological conditions were evaluated. Statistical analyses included Fisher's Exact Test, Mann-Whitney U Test, and Bonferroni-adjusted Z-tests, with significance set at ≤ 0.05. Among the 333 participants, 52.9% were male, with a mean age of 8.75 ± 3.29 years. Most children (81.7%) resided in rural areas, and 55.6% were first-born. Carious lesions were identified in 100% of cases, with 54.7% showing complications such as endodontic pathology. Poor oral hygiene was reported in 99.1% of children, while 58.6% presented signs of periodontal disease and 37.2% reported spontaneous gingival bleeding. Acute pain was experienced by 40.2% of participants. Nutritional issues were prevalent, with 24.3% classified as obese and 21.6% as malnourished. Significant associations were found between lesion severity and both psychological disorders ( < 0.001) and malnutrition ( < 0.001). This study identifies untreated carious lesions, poor oral hygiene, acute dental pain, and oro-dental trauma as key clinical indicators of pediatric dental neglect, with rural residency and limited education as significant socio-demographic risk factors. The findings highlight the urgent need for integrated, community-based strategies, including school-based screenings, parental education, and referral pathways, to improve early detection and prevention in Romania.
忽视口腔卫生是一种可预防的儿童虐待形式，可能导致严重的口腔和全身健康并发症。本研究主要旨在调查罗马尼亚比霍尔县儿科人群中忽视口腔卫生的主要口腔表现和决定因素。此外，该研究评估了营养状况和心理状况等全身因素与口腔牙齿病变严重程度之间的关联，目的是为未来的预防策略和公共卫生干预提供信息。对333名被诊断为忽视口腔卫生的儿科患者进行了回顾性分析。2020年至2024年期间从两个中心收集了临床数据。评估了口腔健康状况、社会人口学特征和心理状况。统计分析包括Fisher精确检验、Mann-Whitney U检验和Bonferroni校正Z检验，显著性设定为≤0.05。在333名参与者中，52.9%为男性，平均年龄为8.75±3.29岁。大多数儿童（81.7%）居住在农村地区，55.6%是头胎。100%的病例中发现了龋损，54.7%表现出诸如牙髓病等并发症。99.1%的儿童报告口腔卫生差，58.6%有牙周疾病迹象，37.2%报告有自发性牙龈出血。40.2%的参与者经历过急性疼痛。营养问题普遍存在，24.3%被归类为肥胖，21.6%为营养不良。发现病变严重程度与心理障碍（<0.001）和营养不良（<0.001）之间存在显著关联。本研究确定未治疗的龋损、口腔卫生差、急性牙痛和口腔牙齿创伤是儿科忽视口腔卫生的关键临床指标，农村居住和教育程度有限是重要的社会人口学风险因素。研究结果强调，罗马尼亚迫切需要采取综合的、基于社区的策略，包括学校筛查、家长教育和转诊途径，以改善早期发现和预防。
