Association of length of stay and consumption in a food assistance program with early childhood caries in Peruvian children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24265/ej262n97Keywords:
Dental Caries; Preschool; Nutrition Programs; Oral HealthAbstract
Objectives: To determine the association between the length of stay and consumption frequency of food
assistance program components and the prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) in children under 5 years of
age in a region of Lima during 2026. Materials and Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional, and observational study was conducted. An intraoral clinical examination was performed on a sample of 120 children, and findings were recorded in dental charts from the pediatric dentistry service (kappa = 0.85). A structured
questionnaire was administered to mothers regarding dietary history and length of stay in the social program.
Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's chi-square test (p < 0.05). Results: The overall prevalence of
ECC reached 68.3%, with a mean dmft index of 4.2 ± 1.8. A statistically significant association was found
between a length of stay longer than one year in the program and the presence of caries (76.5% vs. 57.7%; p = 0.046), as well as with the daily consumption of porridge or oatmeal provided by the food basket (82.1% vs. 42.3%; p = 0.0003). Conclusions: There is a direct and significant relationship between longer length of stay and
daily consumption of specific food assistance components with the prevalence and severity of early childhood
caries in the beneficiaries.
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