DENTAL FINDINGS IN A NUTRITIONAL STUDY OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IN FIVE GUATEMALAN HIGHLAND VILLAGES

¹ Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Guatemala, Central America

Four hundred forty-two school children, 6 to 14 years of age, in 5 rural highland villages in Guatemala were examined for dental status and gingival lesions as part of a general nutrition study which included dietary surveys, physical examinations, hematologic studies, and serum protein and vitamin determinations. No filled or extracted teeth were found. The incidence of caries in this group averaged 2.4 per person. In deciduous teeth the incidence fell gradually from a high of 5 in boys and 3 in girls at age 6 to 0.3 in boys and 0 in girls at age 13. In permanent teeth the incidence at 13 years was 1.7 for girls and 1.2 for boys. These differences between boys and girls are not statistically significant at the 5 per cent level. Gingival lesions varied from 3.7 per cent at age 7 to 9.8 at age 13 and were almost entirely local in nature due to poor dental hygiene.

The average retardation of over 1 year in eruption of permanent teeth was paralleled by over 1 year's retardation in bone age as compared with United States standards and over 2 years' retardation in height and weight. Malpositions or malformations were observed in only 10 of the children. It is thought that the extremely low percentage of refined carbohydrate in the diet may help to explain the relatively low caries incidence despite obvious deficiencies of vitamin A, riboflavin, and animal protein. No significant difference in the levels of serum protein, vitamin A, carotene, ascorbic acid, free riboflavin, and alkaline phosphatase was observed between children with and without dental caries.