Introduction:

Confinement due to Covid 19 kept children away from preventive dental care, which favors practices that reduce the risk of dental caries development.

Objective:

To describe the dietary intake patterns, in terms of free sugar consumption, and oral hygiene, of school-aged children in the city of Concepción, Paraguay, during confinement by Covid 19.

Materials and Methods:

Interviews were conducted via cell phone with parents or guardíans and a child enrolled in the 1st or 2nd cycle of elementary education, after obtaining informed consent from the responsible adult, through a text message. Interviews were carried out until the sample size was completed, established at 110, with a 95% confidence interval. The interviewers were trained during 3 virtual meetings on how to handle the 24-hour food survey / counting instrument, adapted for this study.

Results:

Regarding diet, 108 children consumed free sugars (FS) at different times, 60 of them (55%) > 4 servings of FS / day, this was associated with the parents' or caregivers’ level of primary education (p = .03). At the same time, 56 children (51%) consumed FS between meals, more frequently, in the following presentations: Baked goods 48%; artificial juices 39%. Subjects brushed their teeth 2 to 3 times a day (85%).

Conclusion:

Just over half of children ate 4 or more foods with free sugars during the day; 51% of children consumed them between meals, mainly in the following presentations: baked goods and sugary juices. These dietary patterns could put children at risk of dental caries.

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