Evaluation of Food Retention in Occlusal Surfaces of First Primary Molars Evaluación de la Retención de Alimentos en las Superficies Oclusales de los Primeros Molares Temporales

Some food characteristics, like stickiness and consistency, can modify the time for food removal from the mouth as well as favors the activity of cariogenic bacteria, increasing dental caries risk. This study aimed to observe food retention in contact with a cariogenic substrate in 24-30 months old children. Therefore, 27 children (54 teeth) were evaluated. They intake a chocolate cookie and the food retention area was documented by digital photography in two experimental times (to: 0 and t1: 30 minutes) and it was calculated using Image Tool 3.0 software. The food retention surface index (mm2) was statistically reduced (Wilcoxon’s test, p=0.001) after 30 minutes for both maxillary (to: 0.37 ± 0.04 and t1:0.042 ± 0.015) and mandibular (to: 0.30 ± 0.03 and t1: 0.078 ± 0.019) molars. No differences were observed between the groups in food retention surface index at the initial time. At the final time, the mandibular molars show a higher retention area than the maxillary ones (Mann-Whitney’s test, p=0.04). The prevalence of food retention at the mandibular molars is higher than the maxillary molars (Chi Square’s test, p=0.03). In conclusion, first primary mandibular molars retain more food than the maxillary molars, being in agreement with clinical results of dental caries’ prevalence.