Negligencia dental en la primera infancia: perspectiva de docentes de odontología de dos universidades colombianas.

Introduction: Dental negligence occurs when the oral health problems of children are neglected and not promptly addressed by their caregivers. Objectives: To identify the perspective of dentists, teachers in public and community health areas of dentistry faculties from two Colombian universities, regarding dental negligence affecting early childhood. Methodology: Phenomenological-descriptive qualitative study. Two online focus groups were conducted with 11 dentists, teachers in public and community health areas, with experience in early childhood. Thematic analysis was performed with the support of Atlas ti 22 software. Results: Participants agree that dental negligence affects the oral health and physical and emotional development of children. It involves cavities, pain, infections, and tooth loss. It is often unintentional, making it difficult to identify; it may result from educational shortcomings in parents; it extends beyond family responsibility, including the state and health and education institutions. It is common in contexts of social inequality and vulnerable families where parental care responsibility is delegated. Lack of awareness of the importance of deciduous dentition and cultural barriers impact this phenomenon. Conclusions: According to the participants' perspective, dental negligence in early childhood constitutes a complex issue that requires improving the capacity of family and institutional caregivers to understand the what, how, and why of temporary dentition care. Dentists need to be trained to recognize, prevent, and act promptly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]