Caries experience in young students: epidemiological analysis as a contribution to university policies on health promotion and prevention

Abstract

Introduction: Universities should generate actions related to health promotion and health education. Caries is a disease where diverse factors and their interactions must be consideredObjective: To assess the epidemiological profile of oral health-disease in relation to caries in a community of university students in the city of Córdoba, Argentina.Material and Methods: Exploratory and retrospective study. It was carried out on the medical records of university students registered at the Health Department (Pro-Secretaria de Asistencia) of the Faculty of Dentistry, during the years 2017 and 2018 (n=397 records). An analysis of classic epidemiological measures of caries indices was carried out. For data analysis, generalized linear regression models were used to determine the magnitude of the effects of the factors considered (sex; age; health insurance coverage and origin) in relation to the DMFT and its components. The analysis was deepened for the factors whose effects were significant in the regressions, setting p<0.05Results: the average age was 21.4 ± 2.2 years and with an approximate ratio of 2 women for every man. The DMFT mean for the evaluated sample was 7.45 ± 4.7 and within a range of 0 to 20. Factor C (decayed) was the component that most influenced the DMFT, almost 80% of the patients. Students presented at least one dental element with caries. Conclusion: age is a factor that significantly affects the DMFT index. Factors such as sex, origin and health coverage did not show significant effects on the DMFT index.