Prevalence of dental caries in a group of adult Vietnamese refugees in Norway

Abstract

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.

Oral Health Among Vietnamese Using a Community Health Centre in Richmond, Victoria

“…35 However, this study's findings were closer to the relatively more recent studies of permanent dentition of Vietnamese refugees living in Norway and Vietnamese living in refugee camps in Malaysia. 12,16 Although data were reported on dissimilar age groups and probably different social and ethnic backgrounds, which made comparisons difficult, both tended to support this study's findings on the prevalence of dental caries. 13 However, a common observation was the decayed component as the larger component of the DMFS indexes, while the filled component was lowest.…”

“…13 However, a common observation was the decayed component as the larger component of the DMFS indexes, while the filled component was lowest. 12,16 This observation contradicted current findings, where the decayed component was generally the smallest.…”

“…In contrast, the present data found 5.1 per cent of participants had no history of dental caries. Similarly, Selikowitz 16 concluded that dental caries prevalence in Vietnamese living in Norway was lower than for the general Norwegian population. Selikowitz reported 9 per cent of his sample as being caries free.…”

“…This was the case in permanent dentition of Vietnamese living in Norway, whose dental caries prevalence was found to be lower than that of the general Norwegian population. 16 Among Vietnamese populations, a high prevalence of calculus and gingival bleeding has been reported in children. [11][12][13] More recently, in a Swedish study, Vietnamese children showed a significantly higher number of sites with bleeding on probing and with probing depths equal or greater than 4mm, compared to Swedish children.…”

Pattern of Caries Experience in Permanent Molars in a 15-Year-Old African Population

“…Similar findings have also been reported from Zambia and Nigeria [Westwater, 1977;Akpata and Jackson, 1978]. A more recent study among Vietnamese refugees (newly arrived) in Nor way revealed a similar caries pattern [Selikowitz, 1984], Since these studies were descriptive only, explana tions of the findings were not offered. However, illdefined genetic disorders [Akpata and Johnson, 1978] and state of nourishment during calcification of the molar teeth [Westwater, 1977] as well as the relative inaccessibility of the second molars by oral hygiene measures [Enwonwu, 1981] have been suggested as possible explanations.…”