Objetivo: Avaliar a qualidade de vida dos cuidadores primários de pacientes com necessidades especiais, e verificar se há repercussão da mesma na saúde bucal dos pacientes. Método: O estudo foi do tipo exploratório descritivo, com delineamento transversal e abordagem quantitativa. Foram convidados a participar todos os cuidadores de indivíduos normoreativos e com deficiência que frequentavam a clinica escola de duas universidades e de um centro de reabilitação no período de setembro de 2008 a junho de 2009, em São Paulo. O Grupo Estudo (GE) era composto por 27 pacientes com necessidades especiais e o Grupo Controle (GC) por 23 pacientes normoreativos voluntários, ambos com idades entre três e 18 anos, e que foram avaliados quanto à experiência de cárie utilizando-se o índice de dentes cariados, perdidos e obturados (CPO-D). Os cuidadores primários do grupo controle (CGC) e do grupo estudo (GCE) responderam o questionário na versão abreviada sobre Qualidade de Vida (WHOQOL-bref), o qual é composto por 26 questões de múltipla escolha englobando os domínios: Físico, Psicológico, Relações Sociais e Meio-ambiente. Para a análise estatística foi utilizado o programa SPSS com a sintaxe própria do WHOQOL-bref. Os testes Teste t de Student, qui-quadrado e de Fisher foram utilizados, com nível de significância fixado em 5%. Resultados: Não houve diferença estatística na qualidade de vida entre os grupos de cuidadores estudados, bem como para a experiência de cárie entre os GC e GE (p>0,05). Conclusão: A qualidade de vida dos cuidadores primários dos pacientes com necessidades especiais não é afetada pelo ato de cuidar, e esta se reflete favoravelmente na saúde bucal destes indivíduos.Qualidade de Vida; Cuidados Primários de Saúde; Índice CPOD. Objective:To evaluate the quality of life of primary caregivers of special needs patients and to verify whether it affects the patients' oral health. Method: This investigation was an exploratory descriptive study with cross-sectional design and quantitative approach. All caregivers of normal and disabled individuals attending the clinics of two universities and one rehabilitation center between September 2008 and June 2009 in the city of São Paulo were invited to participate in the study. The Study Group (SG) was composed by 27 special needs patients and the Control Group (CG) by 23 normal volunteers, aged 3 and 18 years, who were evaluated with respect to caries experience using the DMF-T (decayed, missing and filled teeth) index. The primary caregivers of the Control Group (CGC) and the Study Group (SGC) answered the short version of the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-bref), which is composed by 26 multiplechoice questions comprising the following domains: Physical, Psychological, Social Relations and Environment. Statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS software using the WHOQOL-bref own syntax. Student's t, Chi-Square and Fisher's Exact tests were used. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: There was no statistically significa...

Orofacial pain and temporomandibular dysfunction may cause chronic facial pain, which may interfere with the emotional state and food intake of patients with eating disorders (ED), such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Sixty-four patients were assigned to four groups: Group A (AN - restricting subtype): 07; Group B (AN - purging subtype ): 19; Group C (BN): 16; and Group D (control): 22. Complaints of pain are more prevalent in individuals with eating disorders (p<0.004). There are differences between the presence of myofascial pain and the number of hospitalizations (p = 0.046) and the presence of sore throat (p=0.05). There was a higher prevalence of masticatory myofascial pain and complaints of pain in other parts of the body in ED patients; however, there was no difference between ED subgroups. There was no difference in the number of self-induced vomiting between ED patients with and without myofascial pain.

Aim: In this paper, we report two cases of patients diagnosed with pica, an uncommon eating disorder, and the dentistry implications of this psychiatric disorder. Background: Pica is a psychiatric disorder characterized by persistent ingestion of nonnutritive and/or nonfood substances. Dental implications caused by this condition depend on the substance ingested and the patterns of chewing; however, it is rare in the literature descriptions of dental complications of pica disorder. Cases Report: (1) Patient, female, with pica and borderline personality disorder was referred to treatment at the dental service of a psychiatric institute. The patient presented tooth fractures and mucosal lesions. The treatment included dentin tooth sensitivity control, control of traumatic lesions in mucosa, and composite restorations. (2) Patient, female, with pica and bulimia nervosa, referred pain in the temporomandibular joint. The case discusses the value of anamnésis and a proper clinical examination. Conclusions: Through the case reports we concluded that the dentists should be aware of the oral manifestations of this disease. Clinical Significance: The performance of the dental team is of great value to the diagnosis of pica and fundamental during their treatment and rehabilitation.

No abstract