Self-medication in children and young patients at university dental service

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the pattern of self-medication in cases of dental infection for children and pre-teens at University Dental Service. Material and Methods: It was performed a structured survey interview with the parents/caregivers of the patients. The survey consisted in seventeen questions about tooth infection episodes experienced by the children during their lives, and which medication was used, as well as information about demographic characteristics of the patient and parents/caregivers. Statistical analysis was performed with the Software SPSS for Windows, version 15.0. Descriptive analysis was performed (mean and standard deviation [SD] or median and percentis). The association between the self-medication and the variables (child age, mother age, mother educational level) was measured by chi-squared test. Results: One hundred and fifty questionnaires were analyzed. In episodes of dental infection, the most common medicaments were amoxicillin (34.8%) and acetaminophen (32.6%). The practice of self-medication was observed in 21.7% of cases. There was no association between the self-medication and the variables as child age, mother age and mother educational level (P>.05; chi-squared test). Conclusion: Children treated at University Dental Service were exposed to frequent previous use of medicines without prescription, and the data revealed a non-rational use of medications.