Caries and quality of life in an Amazonian slum

Abstract

Background: The Community of Claverito is one of many informal urban floating communities located on the Amazon River in Peru. Aim: To assess the dental health status and evaluate the oral-health related quality of life (OHRQoL) among the pediatric population of the Community of Claverito, a slum in the river floodplain of Iquitos, Peru. Design: For this cross-sectional study, dental health status information was recorded for 67 children using the World Health Organization Oral Assessment form. OHRQoL information was recorded for 28 children using the validated Parental-Caregivers Perception Questionnaire (P-CPQ). Results: The prevalence of untreated dental caries was 97%. The median DFT/dft (decayed and filled teeth index) score for the sample population was 7.0, and the Significant Caries (SiC) Index DFT/dft was 11.0. Median DFT was significantly greater among children whose primary caregiver was not their mother. The average total P-CPQ score was 38.5. Significant associations were observed between OHRQoL and caregiver age. Conclusions: Children of the Community of Claverito exhibit levels of decay roughly twice that of their domestic peers. Similarly, P-CPQ scores from our study population were more than double those of children from private and public schools in Lima, Peru.