Do preschoolers with adverse birth outcomes have more distress during dental examination?

Purpose Studies assessing the influence of neonatal complications on children’s dental behaviour are lacking. We aimed to investigate whether prematurity, birth weight, and history of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalisation are associated with distress during dental examination in children. Methods This preliminary longitudinal, retrospective study included 42 5- and 6-year-old children. Distress during dental examination was assessed using the observational FLACC Pain Assessment Tool through video files. Children self-reported their pain (Faces Pain Scale-Revised) at the end of the session. Information about neonatal complications was obtained through medical records. Bivariate analysis was performed ( P 0.05). Conclusions Health professionals can help to disseminate the knowledge that children with history of low birth weight are more prone to perceive distress with apparently painless procedures.