Prevalence of Dental Pain and Its Relationship with Socioeconomic Status among 6- to 12-Year-Old Children in Kerman, Iran

Background and aims: Unmanaged tooth caries is known as the most important causes of dental pain exerting significant effects on individuals' daily activities, such as eating, studying, and concentrating. The identification of children's oral health status and therapeutic needs is of paramount importance. The present study aimed to measure the prevalence of dental pain and its relationship with socioeconomic status among children aged 6-12 years in Kerman, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 473 primary school children aged 6-12 years, who were enrolled in public and private schools of Kerman. The data were collected using a demographic form and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Pain-initiating factors and pain severity were measured by means of the VAS. Data analysis was performed in SPSS software (version 20) using Chi-square test and multivariate regression. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: According to the results, 244 (51.6%) participants were female. The minimum and maximum ages of the subjects were 6 and 12 years, respectively, with the mean age of 8.7±2 years. The 6- to 12-year-old children had the dental pain prevalence rate of 89.6%. The girls had the highest prevalence of dental pain (n=222, 91%). The age group of 12 years had the highest frequency of dental pain, while the lowest frequency was observed in the age group of 9 years. However, this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.03). The results demonstrated an association between brushing status and dental pain. In this regard, the children who never brushed or performed it once a day were four times more probable to have dental pain than those brushing twice a day or more (OR=2.4, P=0.001). Conclusion: Given the high prevalence of dental pain in this study, the implementation of preventive treatments and development of oral health training programs in schools and social media should be emphasized.