Learning and understanding Quechua to reduce linguistic distance in oral care in Latin America: A narrative review

Aim: It has been proven that the linguistic differences between patients and health professionals make access to health care difficult in Latin American countries with a Quechua-speaking population. Therefore, this review focusses on the importance of learning the Quechua language as a useful tool for increasing health access. Materials and Methods: Electronic databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed were searched from January 2010 until December 2020 using the Quechua terms for rural population, language barriers, health, and services. Results: This narrative review is based on the importance of learning the Quechua language to reduce the linguistic barrier in medical-dental care and was classified as: (1) Quechua and access to health, (2) the importance of learning Quechua in dental clinical practice, (3) teaching Quechua in universities, and finally, (4) a vocabulary in Quechua is proposed for its application in dental practice. Conclusion: Knowledge of the Quechua language is key to improving medical and dental care in Andean countries; therefore, training in this language should start from undergraduate studies.