Introduction:

diet, intraoral bacteria, the composition of saliva and the capacity of teeth to remineralize are key factors for the appearance of dental caries.

Objective:

to determine how the consumption of sugar in children causes the appearance of dental caries in children between four and five years of age at the "Intiñan" Bilingual One-teacher School.

Methods:

observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, descriptive research, using the survey technique and tabulation of results. It was carried out in the community of Sanjaloma Alto in the province of Tungurahua, in the Unidocente Bilingual School ¨IntiÑan¨. The total population was 37 students between four and five years of age, of which 10 children between four and five years of age were taken as a sample, to evaluate the number of children suffering from dental caries and how common was the consumption of sugar in their homes.

Results:

50 % of the parents consume white sugar at home and the remaining 50 % state that they consume brown sugar. Ninety percent of the parents believe that they could change their children's eating habits to improve their oral and general health, while 10 % expressed difficulty in making the change.

Conclusions:

it is essential to take care of the oral cavity from the initial ages of life, working from home and school in the promotion of health and prevention of diseases involving the oral cavity for all the subsequent consequences during adulthood.

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