Prevalence of early childhood caries in children under 6 years old, living in marginal communities in the north of Lima ABSTRACT Early childhood caries is a preventable public health problem and affects a large number of children. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and severity of dental caries in children 6-71 months of poor urban communities of Lima. Three hundred thirty two children were evaluated with the criteria of WHO's dental caries, with non-invasive equipment,

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... tural light, with knee-knee technique for children. A calibration of dental caries was carried out with participation of 3 dentists (kappa interexaminer kappa 0.79-0.92 and 0.81 to 0.93 Intra). The results showed a prevalence of dental caries of 62.3% (CI 57.09 to 67.51), with an age dependent increase: 10.5% (0-11 months), 27.3% (12 to 23 months), 60.0% (24-35 months), 65.5% (36-47 months), 73.4% (48-59 months) and 86.9% (60-71 months). The mean deft index was 2.97 (SD 3.48), the decayed component represented 99.9% of the index. The parts most affected in the maxilla were the central incisors and first molars, while in the lower jaw was the first and second molar. Active white spots were most prevalent during the first years of life. We conclude that there is a high burden of disease and increased as they get older being necessary to create models of early intervention with specialists in the area.