Introduction: association between oral and general health is relevant to the medical and dental communities. Different types of arthritis present manifestations in the oral cavity (infectious or inflammatory processes, and immunophatogenic mechanisms) involving both hard and soft oral tissues, which leads to problems such as difficulty for chewing and swallowing of food. Objective: to determine decayed-missing-filled index in arthritic patients attended in the Faculty of Dentistry of the Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mexico, 2015. Methods: Descriptive, transversal and observational study. Non-probabilistic sampling by convenience. A total of 40 previously diagnosed by rheumatologist arthritic patients, 20 years and older, were included; 5% men and 95% women consulted the Faculty of Dentistry in april-december 2015 time period. Informed and voluntary consent was obtained, and a questionary was applied including: demographic data, medical history, type of arthritis; clinical exploration by calibrated operator, observing decayed, missing and filled dental structures registering in odontogram. The obtained data was analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results: rheumatoid arthritis was the most prevalent (67.5%), most frequent age interval was from 60 to 69 years (30%). 1120 dental areas were analyzed from 40 arthritic patients, 51.79% was presented as decayed, missing or filled. A decayed-missing-filled index of 14.5 was obtained, corresponding to the very high level according to the WHO. Conclusions: dental decay is frequent in patients with arthritis; evolution of decay is evident in the loss and filling of dental structures. These frequent changes in dental structures may compromise normal functions of the masticator system, diminishing patients´ quality of life.
