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. 2024 Mar;41(1):54-58.
doi: 10.1111/ger.12726. Epub 2023 Nov 10.

Access to dental services in an elder population of African descent in Brazil

Adriano Referino da Silva-Sobrinho  1 , Nathália Larissa Bezerra Lima  1 , Letícia Francine Silva Ramos  1 , Stefania Ferreira Jerônimo  1   2 , Fábio Andrey da Costa Araújo  3 , Pedro Henrique Sette-de-Souza  1   2
Affiliations

Access to dental services in an elder population of African descent in Brazil

Adriano Referino da Silva-Sobrinho et al. Gerodontology. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: We investigated access to dental services and associated factors in a community of Quilombola older people.

Background: Quilombola populations are groups of individuals descended from black Africans subjected to slavery during part of Brazilian history. As marginalised and neglected individuals, they have high rates of negative indicators and require further attention to the social determinants that affect their health reality.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in the Quilombola community of Castainho, in the Northeast region of Brazil. In this community, 34 older people aged between 65 and 74 resided. We collected self-report data on sociodemographic and economic characteristics, along with oral examinations by the researchers. The primary dependent variable was regular access to dental services. Statistical analysis used Fisher's exact test (P = .05).

Results: Among the 32 participants in the final sample, 18.8% (n = 6) reported accessing dental services in the previous 6 months. Self-declared individuals of mixed race, with positive self-assessment of oral health, and those who did not self-perceive the need for treatment had lower rates of regular access to dental services (P < .05).

Conclusion: Use of dental services by older Quilombola people is low, and there are differences by ethnicity and individual perception of oral health.

Keywords: Health Services for Older People; dental care; ethnicity; older people.

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References

REFERENCES

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