Cargando…

Oral Health Status of Ngäbe-Buglé Children in Panama: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Poor oral health is often more prevalent in rural and resource-limited areas. Evaluating oral health status in these communities is the first step in ensuring adequate future health care for the population. The aim of this study was to assess the oral health status of children aged 6–12...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hagens, Eliza R. C., Preatoni, Sofia Maddalena, Bazzini, Elena M., Akam, Daniel, McKalip, Konrad S., LaBrot, Ben, Cagetti, Maria Grazia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9955745/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36832423
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children10020294
_version_ 1784894422318579712
author Hagens, Eliza R. C.
Preatoni, Sofia Maddalena
Bazzini, Elena M.
Akam, Daniel
McKalip, Konrad S.
LaBrot, Ben
Cagetti, Maria Grazia
author_facet Hagens, Eliza R. C.
Preatoni, Sofia Maddalena
Bazzini, Elena M.
Akam, Daniel
McKalip, Konrad S.
LaBrot, Ben
Cagetti, Maria Grazia
author_sort Hagens, Eliza R. C.
collection PubMed
description Background: Poor oral health is often more prevalent in rural and resource-limited areas. Evaluating oral health status in these communities is the first step in ensuring adequate future health care for the population. The aim of this study was to assess the oral health status of children aged 6–12 years living in the indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé communities. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two rural indigenous communities of Ngäbe-Buglé on San Cristobal Island in Bocas del Toro, Panama. All children between 6 and 12 years of age and attending local schools were invited to participate, and those whose parents provided oral consent were enrolled. Dental examinations were performed by one trained dentist. To describe oral health, plaque index, DMFT/dmft (decayed, missing, and filled for permanent and primary teeth) index, and developmental defects of enamel index were recorded. Orthodontic characteristics were also evaluated, assessing the prevalence of different molar classes and the prevalence of open bite, lateral crossbite, and scissor bite. Results: A total of 106 children, representing 37.3% of the child population in the age range attending local schools, were included in this study. The mean plaque index of the entire population was 2.8 (SD 0.8). Caries lesions were more common in children living in San Cristobal (80.0%) compared to those living in Valle Escondido (78.3%), p = 0.827. The mean DMFT/dmft for the entire population was 3.3 (SD 2.9). Developmental defects of enamel were recorded in 49 children (46.2%). The majority of the population had a class I molar relationship (80.0%). Anterior open bite, lateral crossbite, and anterior crossbite were found in 10.4%, 4.7%, and 2.8% of the participants, respectively. Conclusions: The oral health of children living in Ngäbe-Buglé communities is generally poor. Oral health education programs for children and adults might play a crucial role in improving the oral health status of the Ngäbe-Buglé population. In addition, the implementation of preventative measures, such as water fluoridation as well as regular toothbrushing with fluoridated toothpaste and more accessible dental care, will be essential in improving future generations’ oral health.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-9955745
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2023
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-99557452023-02-25 Oral Health Status of Ngäbe-Buglé Children in Panama: A Cross Sectional Study Hagens, Eliza R. C. Preatoni, Sofia Maddalena Bazzini, Elena M. Akam, Daniel McKalip, Konrad S. LaBrot, Ben Cagetti, Maria Grazia Children (Basel) Article Background: Poor oral health is often more prevalent in rural and resource-limited areas. Evaluating oral health status in these communities is the first step in ensuring adequate future health care for the population. The aim of this study was to assess the oral health status of children aged 6–12 years living in the indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé communities. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two rural indigenous communities of Ngäbe-Buglé on San Cristobal Island in Bocas del Toro, Panama. All children between 6 and 12 years of age and attending local schools were invited to participate, and those whose parents provided oral consent were enrolled. Dental examinations were performed by one trained dentist. To describe oral health, plaque index, DMFT/dmft (decayed, missing, and filled for permanent and primary teeth) index, and developmental defects of enamel index were recorded. Orthodontic characteristics were also evaluated, assessing the prevalence of different molar classes and the prevalence of open bite, lateral crossbite, and scissor bite. Results: A total of 106 children, representing 37.3% of the child population in the age range attending local schools, were included in this study. The mean plaque index of the entire population was 2.8 (SD 0.8). Caries lesions were more common in children living in San Cristobal (80.0%) compared to those living in Valle Escondido (78.3%), p = 0.827. The mean DMFT/dmft for the entire population was 3.3 (SD 2.9). Developmental defects of enamel were recorded in 49 children (46.2%). The majority of the population had a class I molar relationship (80.0%). Anterior open bite, lateral crossbite, and anterior crossbite were found in 10.4%, 4.7%, and 2.8% of the participants, respectively. Conclusions: The oral health of children living in Ngäbe-Buglé communities is generally poor. Oral health education programs for children and adults might play a crucial role in improving the oral health status of the Ngäbe-Buglé population. In addition, the implementation of preventative measures, such as water fluoridation as well as regular toothbrushing with fluoridated toothpaste and more accessible dental care, will be essential in improving future generations’ oral health. MDPI 2023-02-02 /pmc/articles/PMC9955745/ /pubmed/36832423 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children10020294 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Hagens, Eliza R. C.
Preatoni, Sofia Maddalena
Bazzini, Elena M.
Akam, Daniel
McKalip, Konrad S.
LaBrot, Ben
Cagetti, Maria Grazia
Oral Health Status of Ngäbe-Buglé Children in Panama: A Cross Sectional Study
title Oral Health Status of Ngäbe-Buglé Children in Panama: A Cross Sectional Study
title_full Oral Health Status of Ngäbe-Buglé Children in Panama: A Cross Sectional Study
title_fullStr Oral Health Status of Ngäbe-Buglé Children in Panama: A Cross Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Oral Health Status of Ngäbe-Buglé Children in Panama: A Cross Sectional Study
title_short Oral Health Status of Ngäbe-Buglé Children in Panama: A Cross Sectional Study
title_sort oral health status of ngäbe-buglé children in panama: a cross sectional study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9955745/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36832423
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children10020294
work_keys_str_mv AT hagenselizarc oralhealthstatusofngabebuglechildreninpanamaacrosssectionalstudy
AT preatonisofiamaddalena oralhealthstatusofngabebuglechildreninpanamaacrosssectionalstudy
AT bazzinielenam oralhealthstatusofngabebuglechildreninpanamaacrosssectionalstudy
AT akamdaniel oralhealthstatusofngabebuglechildreninpanamaacrosssectionalstudy
AT mckalipkonrads oralhealthstatusofngabebuglechildreninpanamaacrosssectionalstudy
AT labrotben oralhealthstatusofngabebuglechildreninpanamaacrosssectionalstudy
AT cagettimariagrazia oralhealthstatusofngabebuglechildreninpanamaacrosssectionalstudy