Prevalencia de caries dental y factores familiares en ni？os escolares de Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

objective describing the prevalence and severity of caries in schoolchildren attending the john f. kennedy school in cartagena and its relationship to family factors. methods this was a cross-sectional descriptive study of 243 students. dental caries prevalence was evaluated by dmft and ceo-d index; caries severity was measured by using icdas ii 2005 criteria and family variables were ascertained by filling out a questionnaire that included the family apgar (adaptation, partnership, growth, affection and resolve) for measuring family functioning. descriptive statistics were used when analysing relationships and the chi-square test was used for variables. results caries prevalence was 51 % (45-95 59 %ci). it was shown that 38 % (31-44 95 %ci) of parents had reached secondary school (but not completed it), 44 % (39-54 95 %ci) were living with a partner, 47 % (40-53 95 %ci) had low socioeconomic status, 53 % (47-57 95 %ci) were living in nuclear families, 47 % (41-53 95 %ci) were receiving less than minimum wage income, 66 % (58-70 95 %ci) were affiliated to the government health system and 59 % (52-66 95 %ci) were living in dysfunctional families. bivariate analysis only revealed statistical significance regarding the fathers incomplete secondary schooling and the presence of dental caries (p=0.04). conclusions even though most variables showed no statistical significance regarding explaining the presence of dental caries, they did provide epidemiologically important indicators which would facilitate decisions being made from a public health standpoint.