Dental health of young Vietnamese immigrants

Abstract

About 3000 refugees from Vietnam have come to Norway in the last 5 yr. A survey, including a clinical and radiographic examination for caries and gingival health, was carried out on 142 refugees. They were aged from 2-18 yr and were examined within 6 wk of arrival in Norway. The mean dmfs (decayed, missing or filled) score of subjects 2-5 yr old was 23.9, for subjects 6-11, dmfs was 12.4 and DMFS (decayed, missing or filled permanent tooth surface) 7.7 and for subjects 12-18, DMFS was 20.0. The dmf/DMF scores were mainly composed of caries grades 3 and 4 (dentin caries or caries with pulpal involvement) and teeth missing or indicated for extraction. Only 8 subjects had restorations and these were often of poor quality. All subjects over 6 yr had gingivitis (GBI (gingival bleeding index) (62%)). About 10% had enamel hypoplasias on permanent anterior teeth. Dental abscesses and periapical areas indicated an acute treatment need and most subjects were in urgent need of restorative treatment. Average time required for treatment of 12-18-yr-old patients is .apprx. 7-10 h, .apprx. 4 times that required for Norwegian schoolchildren. Dental examination of newly arrived Vietnamese refugees is recommended.