Evaluation of dental trauma in inmates of the most highly populated Brazilian prison complex

Due to the increase in incarceration rates, the prison community has attracted much concern in the recent past. Although people in prison are often socially disadvantaged and vulnerable to a range of health problems, there is a lack of information on the oral health conditions of prisoners. Thus, the aim of this study was to survey the oral problems of a sample of the male incarcerated population of Brazil, focusing on dental trauma. The research was undertaken over a three-month period in 2017. It was a cross-sectional study of 756 prisoners of the Curado Prison Complex, located in Recife, PE. Using a previously calibrated examiner, dental trauma was measured with the Andreasen index. Etiology of dental trauma and socio-demographic data were collected with questions developed for this survey. Standard descriptive statistics were used to report frequency estimates. The chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to compare groups. In addition, a binary logistic regression was performed to identify whether the studied variables could predict the occurrence of dental trauma. The prevalence of dental trauma in the sample was 10.8% and most of the cases (42.7%) occurred due to violent events. A higher frequency of violent etiology was observed in cases that occurred during imprisonment (p = 0.037). Individuals that suffered dental trauma during incarceration were more likely to have been incarcerated for longer periods of time (p = 0.043). The main type of injury found was enamel and dentin fracture without pulp exposure (68%). The most affected tooth was the upper right central incisor (40%). These results underline the high prevalence of dental trauma experienced by men in prison.