Self-Medication for Toothache and its Associated Factors in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate self-medication for toothache and its associated factors in children and adolescents. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 252 children/adolescents aged 6-16 years. A questionnaire was applied with questions related to demographic and socioeconomic characteristics; experience of, and self-medication for, toothache; as well as aspects related to the condition. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses (Pearson's Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test) were performed, with a 5% significance level. Results: The prevalence of toothache was 41.7%. In 96 cases analyzed, there was prevalence of 69.8% of self-medication for toothache. There were no statistically significant associations between self-medication for toothache and variables related to the children/adolescents (gender and age), their parents or guardians (age and schooling), socioeconomic characteristics (family income and number of people in the household) and aspects related to toothache (fever, crying and school absenteeism) (p>0.05). The most commonly used drug was paracetamol (60.7%), whose choice was based to its previous use by the study population for conditions not related to toothache (47.8%). Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of self-medication for toothache in the study population. No independent variable was associated with self-medication practice.

Evaluation and Management of Dental Pain in Children Motivating Emergency Consultation at the Dental Consultation and Treatment Center of Casablanca

“…Other studies evaluating methods of early pain management revealed that self-medication with analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs were the most commonly used, with rates of 74% [7] and 69.8%. [19] These results are much higher than those found in the present study. This difference can be explained by the socio-cultural and economic differences in the populations studied that manage dental pain differently in children and young adolescents.…”

“…This difference can be explained by the socio-cultural and economic differences in the populations studied that manage dental pain differently in children and young adolescents. [19] Difficulties in accessing the public health care system and the high costs of health insurance and medical consultations also contributed to the spread of the practice of self-medication. On the other hand, the anxiety and fear of visiting the dentist encountered in young patients may also be an argument for self-medication.…”

“…On the other hand, the anxiety and fear of visiting the dentist encountered in young patients may also be an argument for self-medication. [19] The study by Thikkurissy and al (2012) in 300 parents of children with dental pain found that 76% of them self-medicated with at least one dose of over-thecounter analgesics. [20] Similarly, analgesics were described as the main drugs used for self-medication in this study, which may be related to their wide availability and low cost.…”

“…These medications may provide temporary relief of toothache or other discomfort reported by children. [19] Difficulty in identifying and assessing pain in children is one of the barriers to its management. Pain is best managed when it is initially assessed and when treatment is regularly reassessed.…”

Toothache experiences

“…However, there is limited study on toothache using a life course approach. Most of the studies in dental pain are cross-sectional 1,[13][14][15] . Few studies have focused on changes in toothache experiences at two or more points in time 12,[16][17][18] .…”