Influence of ingested food in elementary schools and the dental decay at the Delegation Alvaro Obregón

Abstract

A narrow relationship between nutrition and buco-dental health exists that does not limit the influence of sugar and the starch in the dental decay, but the feeding influences, the development and the maturation, as well as the individual resistance to all diseases. The dental decay is an infectious multifactorial disease that affects all the population in the world. The objective of this study was to determine the epidemiological profile of the estomatological health-disease process of the dental decay problem in students between six and twelve years of age at the Delegation Alvaro Obregón and its relationship to the food consumption. The study was carried out in the Federal District, Mexico, it was cross sectional, descriptive and observational study in three elementary schools at the Delegation. 517 students participated, previous authorization of the parents, in the study. The epidemiological card was organized in two sections: one with epidemiological indicators and the other with 10 questions about habits and type of ingested food by students. Results showed that first grade students had an average of 1.4 injured teeth and this increased along next grades being 3.7 in the sixth grade. A suitable feeding means a balanced diet in such a way that the body can obtain the necessary nutrients to maintain a good health, this is why it is recommended that ingested food by students contain the following food groups: protein, starches, carbohydrates.