Influence of different ethnicities on early childhood caries in preschool children at risk of social exclusion in Southeastern Spain.

AIM: To estimate the prevalence of early childhood caries and to study a possible influence on different ethnicities in preschool children aged 3 to 5 with social exclusion risk.

BACKGROUND

Oral diseases are a major global public health problem, with negative effects at both individual and collective levels, and there is a relationship between socioeconomic characteristics such as income, occupation and educational level, with the prevalence and severity of oral diseases.

METHODS

A cross sectional study was conducted in a sample of 288 preschool children belonging to three schools in the Southeastern Spain among other variables dmft and ICDASS index.

CONCLUSION

The ethnicity of school children at risk of social exclusion is a determining factor in the increased prevalence of cavities in primary caries.