Oral health inequality: characterization of the indigenous people Xukuru do Ororubá, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Abstract

This article aims to characterize Indigenous people aged 18-23 of the Xukuru do Ororubá ethnic group, Pernambuco state, Brazil, regarding the use of dental services, self-perceived oral health, oral hygiene practices and caries experience, and socioeconomic and demographic aspects. This population-based cross-sectional study is nested in a cohort study that started in 2010 and was conducted in the Indigenous territory in 2018. Oral examinations and questionnaires were conducted with 131 Indigenous people. Data were collected using Epi Info software and the SPSS 20.0 statistical program was used for descriptive statistics. R software was adopted to compare the caries experience results obtained with the National Oral Health Survey (SB Brasil 2010). The caries experience verified by the DMFT Index had a mean of 7.4, with the mean Index components corresponding to 22.8 for healthy teeth, 2.4 for decayed teeth, 0.2 for filled/carious teeth, 3.5 for filled teeth, and 1.4 for missing teeth. The oral health condition of Indigenous people is characterized by significant inequality when compared to the results of epidemiological surveys conducted in the country involving other population groups.