Prevalencia de caries dental, frecuencia del consumo de alimentos cariogénicos y cepillado dental en niños preescolares. “Centro de Educación Integral Simón Rodríguez”, El Moralito, estado Zulia

Abstract

The present research work aimed to relate the prevalence of caries with the frequency of consumption of cariogenic foods and tooth brushing in preschool children. For this, a non-experimental descriptive cross-correlational field study is carried out. A sample of 80 preschoolers who attended the “Simon Rodriguez Comprehensive Education Center” located in El Moralito parish, Colon Municipality of Zulia state was considered. Parents were surveyed and clinical observation of the children’s oral cavity was carried out, using a questionnaire and a clinical record as instruments. The relationship between the presence of dental caries in children with the frequency of tooth brushing and the consumption of cariogenic foods was studied, applying Chi square. The main foods consumed were: banana, corn flour; seasoning vegetables, onion, tomato and sweet pepper; fruits, orange and milky, beef and chicken; eggs, cheese, oil, sugar and sweets. The prevalence of dental caries in the studied children was 22%. The presence of dental caries in children was indirectly related to the frequency of tooth brushing with a statistical significance of p = 0.05, but there was no relationship with the consumption of cariogenic foods.