Saúde bucal como Indicador de Desigualdades Sociais em Comunidades Quilombolas no Norte do Tocantins: Um Estudo Baseado na População Infantil.

Abstract

Understanding the health-disease process remains a challenge, mainly due to the social inequalities established in our society. Considering ethnic-social inequalities, traditional communities called quilombolas stand out. Throughout history, these heterogeneous communities were formed by different processes of resistance to slavery and related to the lack of social integration policies, in addition to precarious health care. Among the inequalities observed in quilombola populations, high rates of child morbidity continue to directly impact children's health. Oral diseases are among the most prevalent worldwide, representing an influence on the development, growth and learning processes of the child population, with repercussions in adult life. The objective of this research was to describe the distribution of factors associated with the oral health condition of children aged 5 and 12 years from two quilombola communities located in the north of Tocantins, in order to problematize and discuss how social inequalities affect, or not , the risk of developing oral problems. The study consisted of field research divided into a descriptive observational stage and an observational analytical stage, using the premises of the “Theory of Social Conditions as a Fundamental Cause of Diseases” and validated methods for collecting sociodemographic and clinical-dental parameters CPO- D (Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth) and ceo-d (decayed, extraction recommended and filled). These are communities with low population density, which resulted in the recruitment of 38 children and their respective guardians. The final results obtained from the analysis of the DMFT and dmft indices indicated that of the 16 children from the Cocalinho community, they had a high rate of cavities. 6.8, classified as very high. On the other hand, in the Dona Juscelina community, cavity rates were lower. It is noteworthy that the participants' higher income was associated with lower caries rates, suggesting thatfinancial autonomy is possibly related to a better quality of life and oral health. In fact, the relationship between income and tooth decay reinforces the importance of identifying and considering as "fundamental causes" the conditions in which children live, being affected by social inequalities in their environment, given that many of these children are not cared for by their parents, They are inserted in another family configuration and are looked after by grandparents, uncles and godmothers. The oral indices observed in Cocalinho are above the average for the North region and Brazil, which signals a possible polarization of oral problems and a broader investigation of oral problems in these communities.