Bug and the bacteria: are these the unique mental representation of tooth decay?

• Autor(a) principal: Dias, Maria do Rosário
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Santos, Helcília Dias dos, Pires, Maria Calejo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/39614
• topic: Dental Decay; Drawings; Projective Technique; Oral Health Education; Mental Representation

Objective: Dental caries has a multifactorial aetiology and affects a large part of children’s population worldwide, sometimes configured as a chronic disease. The use of drawing as a projective technique has revealed to be of great use on accessing children's perceptions regarding health issues. The present study aimed to understand how children experience the mental representation of dental caries. Methods: In this exploratory study, the sample consists of 812 children aged between 6 -12 years, recruited from appointments of Paediatric Dentistry at the Egas Moniz University Clinic. This study combined a qualitative methodological strategy with quantitative parameters. Participants were invited to draw a healthy tooth and an (un)healthy tooth. In the present study, only the illustrations regarding (un)healthy tooth has been analyzed through a content analysis grid, to explore the presence of dental caries on the drawing teeth. It was taken into consideration five (5) analytical categories and subcategories, from the content analysis grid designed especially for this research: i) fractures, ii) stains, iii) cavitation, iv) symbols and v) extra drawing. Results: In the present study, Tooth Decay were mental represented by children mostly as Stains. Some participants also drew tears, representing the pain associated to the dental decay. Extra drawings such as bugs, thermometers, bandages and ice bags, were also drawn by the participants expressing the idea of a sick tooth. Conclusions: The drawing as a projective technique of a qualitative nature is a graphical record of high empirical relevance.