No abstract

The purpose of the present study was to assess the utilization pattern of dental services in a group of Pakistani immigrants in Norway. Use was related to sociodemographic characteristics, level of urbanization in Pakistan, knowledge and belief about dental diseases and evaluated and perceived dental health. A total of 160 immigrants were clinically examined and interviewed by a structured questionnaire. The effect change analysis was performed, and separate analyses were performed for men and women. Altogether 60% had visited the dentist during the last 3 yr. While 69% coming from the cities had been to the dentist in Norway, this was the case for only 38% of those from the villages of Pakistan. Pain was given as the main reason for dental visits, and the data indicated insufficient ability to perform self-assessment of own dental health. The independent variables could explain more of the variance in use of dental services among the Pakistani men (R2 = 40%) than among the women (R2 = 21%). While number of decayed teeth and level of urbanization were among the strongest predictors among the men, dental behavior in Pakistan and number of years in Norway were of importance among the women. The latter variable indicated that the women in terms of dental behavior had a higher degree of acculturation than the men, leading to a change in traditional health behavior.

This study investigates the possible use of unstandardized bite-wing radiographs to determine the rate of alveolar bone loss over long periods of time. A total of 100 pairs of bite-wing radiographs obtained from patients of two general dental practitioners were read on a 3M Reader, normally used for reading microfilm. For the purpose of measurement, two reference points were selected on the teeth; the highest point on the occlusal surface of the crown, the mesial and distal points of the cemento-enamel junction. Both vertical and horizontal bone loss was measured. Initially bone levels on 20 full mouth bite-wing radiographs on all posterior teeth were measured, then in the next 80 cases, an abbreviated index was used. The bone heights were first examined at the beginning and then at the end of a 10-year time span. The percentages of measurable distances were 28% and 57%. From the Occlusal measurement point and the C E J measurement points, reasons for unreadability were also recorded. The annual rate of horizontal bone loss was 0.06 mm and 0.04 mm from the Occlusal reference point and the CEJ reference point. The rates for the vertical bone loss was 0.05 and 0.03 mm. In order to study whether there was a constant loss over a period of time, bone levels were measured in 10 successive years. The findings suggest that the bone loss rat per year fluctuated. The study suggests that the bite-wing radiographs can be used in longitudinal studies of periodontal disease and can provide important information on the natural history of the disease.

About 3500 Vietnamese refugees have settled in Norway since 1975. The purpose of this survey was to investigate the dental health of 200 Vietnamese refugees, 142 males and 58 females above the age of 12 years. The clinical examinations were done 3 weeks after arrival in Norway and included decayed, extracted and filled surfaces and teeth (DMFS and DMFT). The sample was divided into four age groups, 12-19, 20-29, 30-39 and 40+. Only 9% of the sample was cariesfree. Mean DMFT ranged from 8.7 in the youngest age group to 11.5 in the oldest. DMFS scores consisted primarily of decayed surfaces and mean DS did not vary much in the different age groups. The examinations revealed a higher prevalence of caries in the permanent second molars than in the permanent first molars in all age groups. The present study seems to support previous reports on the caries situation of the Vietnamese which have indicated a dramatic rise in the caries prevalence. In this study the average DMFT was similar to other Asian populations, but less than Norwegians of comparable age. The results suggest a high treatment need in the Vietnamese refugees.

pproaches to improve oral health are relatively ineffective, yet costly. 1-4 Despite some improvements in oral health outcomes, high-income countries are facing a dental crisis. 5 The situation is worse in low-income nations where more than 90% of caries is untreated. 6 In the United States, "the oral health of older Americans is in a state of decay," 7 one-fourth of US adults 65 years or older have lost all their teeth, and 1 in 5 people of any age has untreated dental caries. 8 In low-and middle-income countries, dental diseases constitute a neglected epidemic, and rates are increasing. 9,10 In quantitative terms, oral and dental diseases affect 3.9 billion people worldwide 11-13 and leave a legacy of substantial morbidity and functional deficits among older adults. 1 The global unweighted mean number of permanent decayed, missing, and filled teeth per 12-year-old in 2004 was 2.3, 14,15 and untreated caries of the permanent dentition ranked first among all health conditions surveyed. 11 Severe periodontal disease was the sixth most prevalent disease in the world 12 ; edentulousness, an effective marker of population oral health, affected 158 million people worldwide 13 ; and oral cancer was the sixth most common cancer in the world, accounting for an estimated 400,000 to 700,000 new cases and 127,700 deaths annually. 16 In this editorial, we focus attention on the global burden of oral diseases, their negative social and economic effects, and the shared determinants of oral health with other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). NCDs are defined broadly as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory disease, and cancer. We also highlight the need to reorient oral health policy as stated in FDI Vision 2020: Shaping the Future of Oral Health. 2,3 Such a reoriented policy should be an integrated Oral Health in All Policies (OHiAP) embedded in Health in All Policies (HiAP). 17