Relationship between the dental caries index and nutritional status in children from 5 to 11 years of age, UCSFI San Miguel Tepezontes and Panchimalco, 2019.

Abstract

Dental caries is an infectious disease in which modulating factors intervene that allow the presence of said disease in the oral cavity, (1) being a morbidity that affects a large number of people including children and adults, (2,3) especially in the first and last years of life; It is estimated that millions of people are affected by this morbidity worldwide. (4) Dental caries, according to the literature, can affect the nutritional status of an individual due to the orofacial pain caused, generating problems for adequate nutrition due to discomfort when chewing and ingesting food. (5) Likewise, excessive malnutrition can contribute to the prevalence and incidence of dental caries. (6,7) Both types of malnutrition can influence an individual; For example, malnutrition due to excess is characterized by individuals preferentially consuming foods with a high presence of carbohydrates, which are fermented by bacteria in the mouth and thus produce dental caries (6,7); Deficiency malnutrition can affect the individual due to the lack of minerals that make up the dental organ, making it less resistant to acids coming from bacteria; In this way, malnutrition can influence the presence of dental caries in individuals. (5) According to a study in 2017, it is estimated that around 530 million children have dental caries in primary teeth and 2.3 billion people suffer from dental caries in primary teeth. permanent. Dental caries is a very important disease, since the stomatognathic system is essential to perform essential functions in the human being, such as chewing, phonation and aesthetics, which are important for the full development of the human being. (8) According to the World Health Organization, overweight and obesity have reached epidemic figures worldwide and are a major problem in the 21st century, as prevalence has increased at an alarming rate; Likewise, malnutrition has been increasing, making malnutrition a public health problem. (4.9)