Relación de los determinantes sociales con la prevalencia de caries dental, en Manta, 2024.

Abstract

The social determinants of health refer to the economic, social, normative, and political forces that can have a positive or negative impact on the health of communities. Dental caries can affect people's quality of life. Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between social determinants and dental caries in children from the Manta canton. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study that used data collected through non-probabilistic and convenience sampling, involving 218 children and adolescents aged 5 to 14 from the Manta canton, attended by the Mobile Unit of the Dentistry Program at the Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí during the 2024-1 academic period. The study variables were the DMFT/dmft index and the social determinants of health. Results: The prevalence of caries in primary dentition was 100%, while in permanent teeth it was 6%. Additionally, the DMFT index was 0.17 ± 0.746 teeth, and the dmft index was 5.85 ± 3.360 teeth. Factors such as diet, income, and employment influenced the levels of the caries indices. Conclusions: All the evaluated children had caries experience in their primary dentition, but the prevalence of caries was low in permanent dentition.