Prevalencia de patologías estomatológicas encontradas en la campaña de prevención contra enfermedades bucales. Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador

Stomatological pathologies constitute a public health problem, its prevalence worldwide continues to increase. The lack of diagnosis prevents their timely treatment which could lead to oral cancer. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out at the University to determine the prevalence of oral pathologies through physical examination of the oral cavity in 408 people. Subsequently, a questionnaire was conducted on the toxic habits of patients to assess the risk factors associated with the appearance of the pathologies. The prevalence of stomatological pathologies was 45.10%, of which the majority occurred in women (60.87%). The type of stomatological pathologies most frequently found were reactive / traumatic (43.4%) and its most common location was the labial semimucosa (26.9%). The prevalence of stomatological pathologies in the community is high, so timely diagnoses should be made to establish appropriate therapeutic measures. The dentist must be able to identify these pathologies since they are the ones who are in first contact with the patient's oral cavity.