Caries dentalinfluencia de los hábitos de higiene bucodental y de alimentación en niños en edad escolar

Zusammenfassung

Introduction: Oral health is essential to children’s health. To maintain them it is necessary to establish a proper oral hygiene and nutritional habits. The aim of the present document is discover the current state of oral hygiene habits and nutritional habits that a group of school children and its relationship with decay. Patients and methods: An observational study was conducted on 130 school children, aged between 3 and 12 years old. Parents carried out surveys in relation to oral hygiene habits and nutrition. An oral exam was preformed on each child to diagnose decay. Results: The prevalence of children with caries is about 33%. There is a statistically significant relationship (p <0.05) between the nationality (p= 0.004) and the parents level of education (p= 0.005) with the presence of decay. There is a statistically significant relationship between the presence of plaque (p= 0.002), brushing time (p= 0.005), habit of covering the pacifier in sugar (p= 0.015) and bruxism (p= 0.025) with the occurrence of decay. In regard to nutritional habits, there is also a statistically significant relationship between the consumption of chewing gum (p= 0.006), pastries (p= 0.009), dairy products (p= 0.093) and medication with the presence of decay (p= 0.005). Conclusions: There is a statistically significant relationship between certain habits with the presence of decay. A health education in an early stage of childhood is essential for the child to acquire adequate oral health and nutritional habits.