Resumo

GIMENES, Ângela Cristina Rocha  e  PONTES, Elenir Rose Jardim Cury. Prevalence of dental caries and periodontal conditions among schoolchildren aged between five and twelve, in a rural municipality in Brazil. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) [online]. 2011, vol.59, n.4, pp. 577-582. ISSN 1981-8637.

Objetive To analyze the oral health of schoolchildren living in a small, rural municipality, in respect of dental caries and periodontal conditions. Methods In 2006, we studied a sample of 335 children between the ages of 5 and 12 in Santa Rita do Pardo, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The DMFT and dmft indices were used to assess the condition in respect of dental caries while for the periodontal status, we used the CPI index, observing the 1999 codes and criteria of the World Health Organization. Socio-economic data were obtained through questionnaires given to the parents. Results It was found that 75.2% of this population had a per capita income of up to half of the minimum wage and 54% lived in rural areas. The municipality does not have its public water supply artificially fluoridated and 51.4% of students use untreated water (i.e. from wells). At 5 years of age, 41.2% of students had dental caries in the deciduous dentition while by twelve years old, 72.7% had caries in the permanent dentition. The main component of the dmft and DMFT were decayed teeth. The DMFT found in 12 year-olds was 2.64 (95% CI 1.82 to 3.46). The percentage of schoolchildren with healthy gums decreased with age. Conclusion a significant proportion of schoolchildren had untreated lesions of dental caries and gingival bleeding. The smaller municipalities have difficulty in providing clean, fluoridated water to the entire population. The difficult access to rural areas causes discontinuity in terms of health programs. It is important to conduct epidemiological studies in different regions of Brazil, enabling the mapping of these oral health-related aspects

Palavras-chave : Epidemiology; Fluoridation; Dental health surveys; Oral health.