Oral health and oral hygiene conditions and nutritional status in children attending a health facility in the Huanuco region, Peru

Abstract

In order to determine the association between oral health and oral hygiene conditions and nutritional status in children using a health facility in the Huánuco region, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 118 children who attended the Growth and Development Control (CRED) of the health clinic “La Esperanza.” Oral health and hygiene conditions were evaluated by visible bacterial plaque, simplified oral hygiene, simplified bleeding, and gingival inflammation indices. Nutritional status was obtained from the last CRED control recorded in the clinical history. Acute malnutrition (AM) was the most common nutritional status. Among children with AM, the proportion of severe gingival inflammation was 60.3%; gum bleeding, 61.5%; dentobacterial plaque presence, 59.3%; and poor oral hygiene, 60.3%. There is evidence of a greater impact of oral health and oral hygiene on children with malnutrition, mainly acute.