Oral Health Status among Indigenous People in Kuala Lipis, Malaysia

Objectives: To determine the oral health status of the indigenous people in Kuala Lipis, Malaysia. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study involving adults aged 15 and over. Three examiners underwent extra and intra-examiners calibration prior to the examination. All examinations were carried out based on WHO guidelines using standard instruments and procedures. Information collected focused on dental caries, periodontal diseases, level of edentulousness and presence of oral lesion. Results: 118 out of 568 adults were examined (20.8%). Age ranged from 15 to 80 years. Less than half (45.8 %) was from Semai tribe and 54.2 % was from Bateq tribe. The prevalence of dental caries was found to be quite high with mean DMFT of 7.6 with mean decay (DT), missing (MT) and filled teeth (FT) were 3.5, 3.7 and 0.4 respectively. The number of adults with The Community Periodontal Index (CPI) scores 3 and 4 were 69.5% and 26.2% respectively. The prevalence of oral lesion was found to be low (9.3%). In terms of levels of edentulousness, 54.2 % of the sample had at least one tooth missing to fully edentulous with mean 3.7. Conclusion: This study showed that the caries experience, periodontal disease and level of edentulousness within the sample of indigenous people in Kuala Lipis were found to be high. It is recommended that effective oral health promotion to improve the oral health status of the indigenous peoples be implemented.