ORIGINAL ARTICLE

 

Dental caries in preschoolers from communes with fluoridated and non-fluoridated public water supplies in Chile

 

Cárie dentária em pré-escolares de comunidades com e sem fluoretação de agua no Chile

 

 

Ismael Yévenes Lopez^I; Barbara Hernández^II; Alfredo Apip Ramos^II; Miguel Neira Jara^I; Paula Maass Wolfenson^I; Ljubica Petrasic Smith^II

^IDepartment of Chemical Sciences, Dental School, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
^IIDepartment of Restorative Dentistry, Dental School, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

Correspondence

 

 

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ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence and severity of dental caries in three- to five-year-old preschool children from two communes in Chile: one with a fluoridated public water supply and the other with a non-fluoridated public water supply.
METHODS: Study design: Cross-sectional observational study. The sample was composed of 200 children from three to five years old, with good general health, of low socioeconomic status, attending four kindergarten schools of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile. Two schools were located in the commune of Maipú, which does not have fluoridated public water, and two schools were located in the commune of Peñalolen, which has had fluoridated public water since 1996, at a fluoride concentration of 0.6 mg/L. The WHO (World Health Organization) methodology was used to measure the percentage of caries-free children, and the dmft index was used to measure the severity of the disease.
RESULTS: The results showed that 24% of the children in Maipú were caries free, compared to 55% in Peñalolen. The dmft index was 3.38 and 1.84 in Maipú and Peñalolen, respectively. These indices increased with age.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence and severity of dental caries in three- to five-year-old preschoolers were higher in Maipú, the commune with non-fluoridated water, than in Peñalolen, the commune with fluoridated water.

Key words: Dental caries; caries-free; dmft index; fluoride; preschool children

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RESUMO

OBJETIVO: Determinar a prevalência e severidade da doença cárie dentária em crianças pré-escolares de 3 a 5 anos de idade em creches no Chile, localizadas em uma comunidade sem fluoretação da água de abastecimento público e em outra comunidade com agua fluoretada.
METODOLOGIA: Delineamento do estudo: observacional, transversal. A amostra foi composta por 200 crianças de 3 a 5 anos, com boa saúde geral, pertencentes a baixos estratos sociais, de quatro creches da Região Metropolitana de Santiago, dois do município de Maipú sem fluoretação da água de abastecimento público e duas do município de Peñalolén com fluoretação desde 1996, com concentração de flúor de 0,6 mg/L. A metodologia da OMS foi utilizada para o registro da percentagem de crianças livres de cárie e o índice cpod foi usado para medir a severidade da doença.
RESULTADOS: A porcentagem de crianças livres de cárie foi de 24% em Maipú e 55% em Peñalolén, com índice cpod de 3,38 e 1,84, respectivamente. Estes resultados aumentaram com a idade.
CONCLUSÃO: A prevalência e severidade da cárie dentária em pré-escolares de 3 a 5 anos em Maipú (agua não fluoretada) foram superiores aos observados em Peñalolén (água fluoretada).

Palavras-chave: Cárie dentária; índice cpod; flúor; pré-escolares

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Correspondence:
Ismael Yévenes
Department of Chemistry, Dental School
University of Chile
Sergio Livingstone (ex-Olivos) 943
Independencia - Santiago - Chile
E-mail: iyevenes@odontologia.uchile.cl

Received: July 20, 2009
Accepted: February 8, 2009