Relación entre el nivel de motricidad fina y remoción de placa bacteriana a través de cepillado dental en niños.

Abstract

Introduction: The study seeks to determine the relationship between the level of fine motor skills and the removal of bacterial plaque in children aged 5 to 7 years, using the Fones brushing technique. Additionally, the impact of parental support on the oral hygiene process is analyzed. Objective: Determine the relationship between the level of fine motor skills and removal of bacterial plaque through tooth brushing in children aged 5 to 7 years. Materials and Methods: A field and longitudinal study was carried out with 39 children aged 5 to 7 years from the Georgina Oliva de Porras Educational Unit, in Ambato. The Silness and Löe indices, the O'Leary oral hygiene index, motor skills tests and observation of brushing technique and parental support were applied. Results: In the analysis of bacterial plaque removal, it was observed that 76.3% of the students had regular removal, 13.2% had good removal, and 10.5% had poor removal. No significant relationship was found between motor skills and plaque removal (p-value = 0.943). Furthermore, parental support also did not show a clear impact on plaque removal (p-value = 0.835). However, the motor skills exercises resulted in a significant improvement in the students' oral hygiene (p-value < 0.05). Conclusion: Although no significant relationship was found between motor skills and plaque removal, the motor skills exercises motor skills contributed to improving oral hygiene.