Comparison of the factors that influence the choice of a pediatric dentist according to the previous dental appointment in pediatric dentistry of children under 5 years of age in Metropolitan Lima, Peru during the year 2020

Abstract

Dental visits have a great impact on the child as well as on their parents and/or caregivers for their judgment regarding subsequent dental visits. Objective: To evaluate if there are differences when comparing the factors to choose a pediatric dentist and the previous dental consultation in Metropolitan Lima. Material and methods: Cross-sectional study with a sample of 294 parents. Data on the child's previous dental consultation in pediatric dentistry between 0 and 5 years of age were collected, with response categories of Yes and No; the factors for choosing a pediatric dentist, with response categories of very important, very useful, not important and not useful. For this, a virtual questionnaire of 29 items was used. Fisher's exact test and Chi square were used for bivariate analysis. Results: Statistically significant differences were found in 4 of 5 factors such as recommendations, previous experiences, types of information sought and logistics. On the other hand, it was found that 50.68% of children under 5 years of age had had a dental consultation with a specialist, where 20.07% had attended in the range of 1 to 3 years of age and only 12.59% attended before first year to the dental consultation with the pediatric dentist. Conclusions: There are differences when comparing the factors to choose a pediatric dentist and the previous dental consultation in Metropolitan Lima. Finally, it was shown that parents do not take their children to their first dental visit before the first year, a recommendation indicated by the American Dental Association