Prevalencia de la caries dental en estudiantes que ingresan a primer semestre de la Facultad de Odontología en la Universidad de Guayaquil durante el año 2022.

Abstract

Dental caries represents one of the most prevalent diseases in all age groups (children, young people and adults) that is distinguished by the destruction of the hard tissues of the affected tooth, causing pulp pathologies. If not treated in time, it affects the daily development of people and the most important thingis that it allows us to visualize prevention interventions for students at risk of suffering from this pathology. The objective of the present study is to determine the prevalence of dental caries in students entering the first semester of the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Guayaquil during the year 2022. For this, an observational, descriptive, crosssectional study was developed, in which through oral diagnosis, the teeth that presented cavities were identified, and the prevalenceof the pathology was estimated. In addition, surveys were carried out in order to identify the associated risk factors. Chi-square tests were estimated in orderto determine the association; for all tests the level of statistical significance wasset at p<0.05. A 65% prevalence of cavities was obtained and the main associated risk factors were also identified such as the consumption of cariogenic foods with 58,4%, lack of tooth brushing with 57%. It was also found that the most affectedteeth were the upper and lower first molars (16,26,36,46). The present study allows us to identify the prevalence of caries and its associated risk factors with the purpose of establishing prevention and controlstrategies for the pathology focused on the identified risk factors.