Oral Health Status of Schoolchildren Living in Remote Rural Andean Communities: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE: Oral health promotion (OHP) was introduced in Peruvian primary schools in 2013, and no evaluation has been undertaken in rural areas since then. To measure OHP outcomes, this cross-sectional study aimed to assess the oral health (OH) status of schoolchildren living in a remote rural area of the Cusco region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-six children were recruited in three remote rural communities and in a rural district capital. Six dimensions of OH (knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, dental plaque, dental caries, and quality of life related to OH) were measured using self-administered questionnaires and dental examinations. Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney tests were conducted to compare outcomes between two types of settings (remote rural community and district capital). Multiple linear regression models were fit to identify which variables can explain the variance observed in the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index. RESULTS: The median percentage of dental plaque in remote rural communities was 78.7+ (interquartile range [IQR] 71.5–82.8) and 78.6+ (IQR 72.7–82.2) in the district capital (P = 0.90). The prevalence of dental caries was estimated to be 94.1+ (95+ confidence interval [CI] 71.1–>99.9) in the district capital and 98.0+ (95+ CI 88.3–>99.9) in remote rural communities (P = 0.43). CONCLUSION: These results suggested that OHP interventions had not reached their full potential. Identifying different factors that influence the reported outcomes would provide a more comprehensive understanding and help to tailor OHP interventions.