Self-reported dental needs and type of procedures performed in babies aged 0 to 3 years.

Abstract

Introduction: Understanding the reasons that lead baby guardians to require specialized dental care services allows us to focus our action plan and offer a better service. Objective: This study aims to identify the latent dental needs of babies (0-3 years) and describe what types of procedures are most frequently performed in this population. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional and retrospective descriptive study collected data from medical records of patients treated from 2020 to 2023 at the “Bebé Clinic” in the city of Oruro-Bolivia. Age and sex of the patients, reason for consultation and type of procedures performed were recorded. Of 601 medical records evaluated, 539 were included, 261 female and 278 male. Results: The average age range was 2 years. Three most frequent categories were identified according to the need expressed by the tutors; 1)Specific expressed needs=36.5% 2)Nonspecific felt needs=34.1% and 3)Emergency needs=29.3%. There was a significant increasing trend in the prevalence of emergency consultation with increasing age. The number of baby guardians seeking assistance from the pediatric dentist has increased over the years (2020 n=70/2023 n=221). Conclusions: The main demand expressed by guardians of babies was for restorative procedures and pulp treatments, reflecting that there is no culture of visiting the pediatric dentist before the first signs of disease.