Behavior of the dental caries in the primary school Antonio López Coloma. Mexico Popular Council, Colón, Matanzas. March-June 2009

Abstract

We carried out a cross-sectional, descriptive and observational research, in students of the primary school Antonio López Coloma, of the Mexico Popular Council, municipality of Colón, province of Matanzas, in the period March-June 2009, with the objective of identifying the dental caries behavior and its risk factors, and also the level of oral health knowledge these students have. The universe was formed by 214 children in ages from 5 to 12 years, who were all studied. The used variables were: age, genre, dental caries risk factors and level of knowledge on oral health.  The obtained results showed that 65,9 % of the children had troubles, 71,0 % were male, 85,5 % were in the age group of 7-8 years old; there was a predomination of the inadequate oral health, for a 64,5 %; the cariogenic  diet, for a 57,0 %, and the 88,8 % of the students had a non-satisfactory level of knowledge on oral health. We concluded that the male sex, and also the 7-8 years-old age group were the most affected per dental caries: the predominant risk factors were the oral hygiene and the cariogenic diet.  Most of the students had non-satisfactory and inadequate information on the oral hygiene.