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Prevalence Of Dental Caries In Mexican-American Children And Adolescents Attending Rawlings Pediatric Dental Clinic In El Paso, Texas, Andrea Aguila

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Abstract

Background and significance: Dental caries is the most common infectious disease in childhood, causing negative long and short term effects in a child’s life. Children living in poverty are twice as likely to be affected by dental caries compared to those living above the poverty level. Of this poverty group, Mexican-American children are the most affected. In the US-Mexico border communities 83% of the population is Hispanic with the majority of them being of Mexican descent, and 30% of those live in poverty. The United States Mexico border is also characterized by a rapid population growth, high unemployment rates, …