Dental caries among the Indigenous Peoples in Brazil

To describe and compare dental caries status among self-identified indigenous and non-indigenous individuals in Brazil, and to analyze potential trends between 2003 and 2010. Secondary data from two Oral Health Brazilian surveys were used, and Kruskal-Wallis, multiple linear and logistic regressions were performed as statistical analyses. In 2003, 25% of all indigenous persons were caries-free and around 29% among non-indigenous. The percentage found in 2010 was around the same in both groups (31%). However, there was a caries-free decrease among 5-year-olds from the indigenous sample who presented a 33% caries-free rate in 2003, while in 2010 the percentage was 31%. Indigenous children aged five years had an overall dmft of 3.82±4.08 in 2003, while non-indigenous presented a mean dmft of 2.78±3.48. In 2010, the mean dmft observed among indigenous children was 4.10±4.01 and among non-indigenous was 2.42±3.35 (x²=10.8, d.f.=1, p=0.001). Regarding the DMFT, it was observed a mean value of 8.39±9.20 among indigenous subjects of all age groups and 8.84±9.85 (x²=0.98, d.f.=1, p=0.321) among the non-indigenous sample in the 2003 survey. In 2010, the mean DMFT observed among indigenous persons of all age groups was 12.05±11.72 and among non-indigenous 12.41±11.58 (x²=0.37, d.f.=1, p=0.542). Moreover, missing teeth were accounted for 49% of the overall indigenous DMFT score in 2003 and for 73% in 2010. This study revealed that self-identified indigenous individuals in Brazil had not only elevated rates of dental caries but also statistically significant differences in caries status and access to dental care when compared with their respective national counterpart.