Dental caries experience in Indians of the Upper Xingu, Brazil

Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo

Deborah Denise Leal Rigonatto¹  José Leopoldo Ferreira Antunes²  Paulo FrazÃo¹ 

[1] ,Universidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Odontologia São Paulo SP ,Brasil

关键词: Indians of the Xingu;    Dental caries;    Care index;    Community dental health;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0036-46652001000200008

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

The present study describes the experience of dental caries in Indians communities of the Xingu, in order to supply parameters for further analysis of trends of the disease in Indians. We performed oral health examination in 288 Indians from four communities (Yawalapiti, Aweti, Mehinaku and Kamaiura) living in the southern part of the Xingu National Park, using international criteria defined by the World Health Organization. The outcome measures were the DMFT and dmft scores, and the care index. Indians of the Upper Xingu presented high levels of caries, in all age groups. The average DMFT for 11 to 13-year-old children - 5.93 - was lower than the index measured in 1993 for 12-year-old schoolchildren in nearby cities - 8.23 -, whose United Nations' human development index ranked medium. However, Indians presented a much lower care index, per age group, than these cities, and a high ratio of missing teeth for persons above 20 years old. These observations indicate low incorporation of dental care services. The irregularity of the services programmed for these communities, and the changing dietary and cultural patterns, mainly derived from their contact with the non-indigenous population of Brazil, reinforce the pressing need for health promotion initiatives aimed at these groups.

【 授权许可】

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