Income as a Protective Factor for Dental Caries among Indigenous People from Central Brazil

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the association between eligibility for a conditional cash transfer program, based on household income, and dental caries in 12-year-old children from three Indigenous ethnic groups living in Mato Grosso do Sul state, Central Brazil. A population-based cross-sectional study was performed in three ethnic groups: Kaiwoá, Guarani, and Terena. The study population was drawn by stratified sampling according to each ethnic group with a probability proportional to the village size. The number of untreated decayed permanent teeth as a count variable was the outcome measure. Ethnic group and eligibility for the conditional cash transfer program showed significant association with untreated caries. Children from Guarani and Terena presented respectively two-fold and 2.8-fold higher caries rate (p<.001) compared with Kaiwoá in the adjusted model, while children from no eligible cash transfer program households had a 40% lower caries rate (p=.034).