Cross-sectional study of oral mucosal conditions among a central Amazonian Indian community, Brazil.
BACKGROUND
A cross-sectional study on the oral mucosal conditions among the Waimiri Atroari Indians from central Amazonia, Brazil, has been conducted. These Indians keep their traditional way of life and are free from habits such as smoking, alcohol drinking, and use of pacifiers.


METHODS
Clinical examinations of a representative, randomly selected sample of patients during routine dental treatment, following ethical procedures recommended by Brazilian laws were made.


RESULTS
Out of 922 individuals, 587 were examined, among which 52.57% of the children up to 12 years old and 73.44% of patients aged 13 years or older presented at least one oral mucosal condition. The conditions more frequently observed were, in decreasing order of prevalence: fissured tongue, focal epithelial hyperplasia (FEH), lesions of traumatic origin, geographic tongue, Fordyce's spots, and candidiasis. Only one case of leukoplakia was identified.


CONCLUSIONS
Conditions observed among theses Indians were essentially the same that have been described in other populations around the world, except for FEH, which, as a characteristic lesion of Indians, had high prevalence (20.95%). The lesions observed were related to the way of life of this specific population.
dos Santos
Paulo José Benevides
PJ
FCECON, Fundação Centro de Controle de Oncologia (Cancer Hospital), Manaus, AM, Brazil. pjbsantos@osite.com.br
Bessa
Carolina Ferreira Navarro
CF
de Aguiar
Maria Cássia Ferreira
MC
do Carmo
Maria Auxiliadora Vieira
MA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002828:Choristoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017573:Focal Epithelial Hyperplasia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005929:Glossitis, Benign Migratory / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D015995:Prevalence; D045483:Rivers; D013545:Sweat Glands; D014063:Tongue, Fissured / Q000453:epidemiology