Dientes ChiquiTICOS: an analysis of juvenile dentition and dental health in Costa Rican indigenous communities

Abstract

This study surveyed the dental health of three Costa Rican indigenous populations and two rural, non-indigenous communities. Sixty-six individuals, both children and adults, were interviewed regarding dental hygiene practices and the dentition of eighty-eight children from the ages of two to thirteen was examined. The indigenous populations, on average, showed a more important number of anterior dental pathologies as compared to a non-indigenous group (42% vs 20%). Collectively, both access to and utilization of dental healthcare were worse within the indigenous communities; however, there was still great variation amongst all five sites.