Caries dental y su relación con la dieta e higiene oral en niños con discapacidad motora

Abstract

Children with motor disabilities are usually dependent and require the accompaniment and unconditional support of a person, generally the mother, who can assist them in their care. This care includes food and oral hygiene. When this is defective, dental caries may develop in one or several pieces. The objective was to determine the relationship of diet and oral hygiene with dental caries in children with motor disabilities. The research is descriptive, with a documentary design, under the parameters of exploratory systematic reviews. A total of eight articles published between 2008 and 2021 were included for the review. Five of the publications were cross-sectional studies, one systematic review with meta-analysis, one systematic review without meta-analysis, and one cohort study. Diet can influence the development of caries in children with motor disabilities. In addition to the influence of sugar consumption and its relationship with the development of caries, other elements are added in this population, such as the difficulty in feeding themselves; in fact, some studies report that tube feeding was identified as a factor significant associated with dental caries. Much of the success and failure of oral hygiene will be the responsibility of caregivers because a child with motor disabilities may not be able to perform oral hygiene on their own. Brushing teeth less than once a day is reported as a significant risk factor.