SUMMARY
OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence and to analyze the factors associated with odontogenic pain among children at a pediatric dental emergency service.METHODS: The retrospective cross-sectional study was performed using the clinical records of children (0 to 12 years old) attended from 2003 to 2010 at the Pediatric Dentistry Emergency Service of the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. The information was collected by a researcher, and a structured form was used to collect all data from patients’ records. A bivariate analysis of the absolute and relative frequencies of odontogenic pain (spontaneous and induced) and associated factors (age, gender, diagnosis, treatment and referrals) was performed with the chi-square or Fisher tests (p<0.05).RESULTS: Of the 574 records examined, 308 (53.7%) had reported odontogenic pain. The majority of the individuals were male (51.0%) between 4 and 8 years of age (40.9%). Odontogenic pain affected more frequently the deciduous tooth (76.9%), with induced dental pain (54.5%), diagnosed with dental caries (54.5%), which was treated with extraction (21.4%), and referred to another clinic (59.7%). The type of odontogenic pain was not associated with gender, age group or affected tissue (p>0.05), but there was a higher prevalence of spontaneous pain in children with caries in a deciduous tooth with pulpal involvement, who were treated with endodontic medication and endodontic treatment (p<0.05). Among children with induced pain, there was a higher prevalence of trauma and decay in deciduous and permanent teeth without pulpal involvement, and they received temporary restoration and were referred to the trauma project (p<0.05).CONCLUSION: There was higher prevalence of odontogenic pain in children between 4-8 years of age, with deciduous dentition and dental caries. The type of odontogenic pain was associated with diagnosis, treatment and referral, but was not associated with gender and age.