DOES CHILDREN'S EARLY VISIT TO THE DENTIST REDUCE TREATMENT COSTS?

Abstract: Aim. Determine the association between the experience, severity and clinical consequences of early childhood caries and the direct health, non-health and indirect treatment costs in children who attended the National Institute of Children's Health in 2020. Materials and methods. Observational, analytical, and cross-sectional study. The sample was made up of 150 children, aged 3 to 5 years, selected randomly, who were evaluated through the ceod index, ICDAS-II (International System for the Detection and Evaluation of Caries), and pufa (Index of consequences of untreated dental caries). The direct health, non-health, and indirect costs generated by dental treatments were recorded, through surveys designed and validated by the researcher, which were applied to the companions. The student's t test, Pearson correlation, and the generalized linear model Gaussian family were used using Stata version 17. Results. The sample was made up mostly of male children (61%), 4 years of age. Mothers accompanied their children (95%), with an average age of 32 years, and with secondary education (49%). On average, children presented 4.29 ± 3.14 carious teeth, 2.32 ± 2.07 teeth with white spot (C2) and 1.83 ± 1.84 teeth with pulp involvement. The average family income was 1,306 soles. The average cost of direct healthcare treatment, direct non-healthcare cost, and indirect cost were 328.9, 210.3, and 116.9 soles, respectively. For each increase in the experience of caries (decayed, lost or filled) in a tooth, the average direct healthcare cost increases by 51.32 soles (95%CI:34.71 – 67.92, p<0.001) Conclusion. There is a statistically significant association between the experience, severity, and clinical consequences of early childhood caries and the costs of dental treatment.