The Oral Health Situation of a Region in the Eastern Andes of Bolivia

Introduction: The dental treatment in the Bolivian highlands is challenging. Due to the reduced infrastructure, the caries prevalence of the local population is heavily increased. Objective: The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the general oral health situation of dental patients in a rural region of Bolivia. Material and Method: 174 patients were included in this pilot study (age 24.64 ± 16.42 years, range 3 to 80 years; 65.36% female patients). Patients were treated in a dental office in Huancarani (operated by the FCSM). Patients lived in four different corporations. dmft-Index (0-6 years) and DMFT-Index, edentulousness situation, nutrition habits, and socio-economic factors were collected. Results: The dmft-Index of the treated patients was 7.00. The DMFT-Index results in 8.02. 37.94% of the patients suffered from general dental plaque, and 60.34% showed isolated dental plaque. In 1.72% of the investigated patients, no dental plaque was detectable. 35.63% of the patients knew oral hygiene products. 4.02% of the study participants required treatment for an acute malocclusion. In 2.8% of the included patients, parasitoses (South American trypanosomiasis) were verified anamnestically. Discussion and Conclusion: The oral health situation of the patients showed a massive restorative and prosthetic treatment demand. In addition, education on sufficient oral health and the dissemination of oral health products have to be pushed. The prevalence of South American trypanosomiasis, which can lead to death especially for children, can be assumed to comprise a considerable number of undetected cases. The main goal of further studies must be the development of interdisciplinary infection prophylaxis and oral health prophylaxis systems. Keywords: caries incidence, Bolivia, general oral health, epidemiology