Oral health situation of Chilean children in a community context ; Situación de salud bucal de párvulos chilenos en un contexto comunitario

Introduction: To determine the oral health situation in the infants admitted to a pro¬motional-preventive program in the municipality of Melipilla during the year 2018. Material and methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with 860 infants between two to five years of age enrolled in 17 educational establishments in the community, located in urban and rural settings. The incidence of cavities as related to the variables of sex, age and geographical area of the educational establishment (urban-rural) as an independent variables were measured in a community context (in the classroom). Study approved by the Scientific Committee of Ethics of the Finis Terrae University and the Western Metropolitan Health Service. Results: The study covered 88.5% of the enrolled children of 3.76 ± 1.06 years with an average age of 3,76 ± 1,06. 53.5% were girls. 34.1% (IC:95% 30,74:37,48) had cavities, without differences by sex or geographical area, but by age. The older you get, the more damage you get from tooth decay. Each toddler had on average one primary tooth with cavities (decayed tooth: 1.14 ± 2.28). One third of the population most affected by cavities presented on average three primary teeth with damage. Discussion: The results show a high damage by cavities whose onset is early; This highlights the need to improve the development of public oral health policies aimed at early childhood. ; Introducción: Determinar la situación de salud bucal en párvulos ingresados a un programa promocional-preventivo en la comuna de Melipilla durante el año 2018. Material y métodos: Estudio transversal realizado en 860 párvulos de entre dos a cinco años de edad matriculados en 17 establecimientos educacionales de la comuna, ubicados en zona urbana y rural. La experiencia de caries dental como variable dependiente y sexo, edad y zona geográfica del establecimiento educacional (urbano-rural) como variable independiente fueron medidas en un contexto comunitario (en aula). Estudio aprobado por Comité Científico de Ética de Universidad Finis ...