Chronic Malnutrition and Oral Health Status in Children Aged One to Five Years

Malnutrition is a public health problem that can exert a negative impact on the general and oral health of children. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of chronic malnutrition on the oral health of children aged one to five years. An observational, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Nutritional Recovery Center and involved 82 children between 12 and 71 months of age. Nutritional status was evaluated using anthropometric indicators. The children were weighed on a previously calibrated electronic scale (capacity: 150 kg; precision: 100 g) barefoot and wearing light clothing in the presence of the mother or caregiver. Height was determined using a non-flexible metric tape (maximum length: 2 m; precision: 0.1 cm). Each measurement was made twice and the mean was used for the calculation height for age, weight for height and weight for age. The guidelines of the World Health Organization, were the reference for the evaluation of nutritional status. Oral health status was measured using the dmft index. The criteria adopted for the determination of prevalence followed by guidelines of the Oral Health Surveys - Basic Methods, 4th edition - described in the examiner's manual and annotator's manual produced by the coordination team of the Brazil Oral Health Project. Non-stimulated saliva was collected and Flow rate and buffering capacity was then measured with the aid of a pH meter. The salivary flow volume was calculated and expressed as ml/min. The following categories were considered in the analysis of salivary flow: < 0.1 ml/min = xerostomia; 0.1 to 0.6 ml/min = very low flow; 0.7 to 0.9 mL/min low flow; 1.0 to 2.0 ml/min = normal flow; and > 2.0 ml/min = high flow. The following categories were considered: ≥ 5.5 = very good buffering capacity; 5.4 to 5.0 = good buffering capacity; 4.9 to 4.5 = medium good buffering capacity; 4.4 to 4.0 = low buffering capacity; and ≤ 3.9 very low buffering capacity.