Oral Health Programs in Early Childhood in Peru

Abstract

Introduction: Dental caries is an important public health problem in Peru. Since 1986, when the Ministry of Health of Peru created the first oral health program for children from lower socioeconomic areas, more have been implemented, with the aim of preventing dental caries. The purpose of this poster is to present oral health programs aimed at early childhood, with a critical approach. A bibliographic search was carried out in the databases Medline, EBSCO, Scielo, Google scholar and government web pages. Of the programs found on oral health, the most prominent are: the Clinical Practice Guide for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Dental Caries in Children where they recommend the use of toothpaste from 1000 ppm F- in infants and the Technique of Health in the evaluation of the development and integral growth of the child under 5 years of age, which provides information for health professionals on dental management in early childhood. On the other hand, Directive No. 200 and Ministerial Resolution No. 454-2001-SA / DM were found where the concepts on oral health are not updated according to the latest research. Conclusion: In Peru, oral health programs have a multidisciplinary approach, whose objective is to provide education and promotion of oral health in children and their parents / caregivers. It is recommended that these documents be reviewed and updated according to the latest research in the management of dental caries in infants.