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Oral Health Challenges in Refugees from the Middle East and Africa: A Comparative Study

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Abstract

The aim was to explore and compare oral health and need for dental treatment in newly arrived refugees from the Middle East and Africa to Norway. Oral examination and structured interviews were performed with attending interpreters. Associations between origin and measures for oral health were studied with multiple linear regression. Half of the refugees (n = 132) reported oral impacts on daily performances (OIDP) and mean number of decayed teeth (DT) was 4.3 (SD 3.5). Refugees from the Middle East had more DT (1.38, p = 0.044), higher sum of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) (3.93, p = 0.001) and lower OIDP-score (− 3.72, p = 0.026) than refugees from Africa. Refugee oral health is generally poor, with more extensive challenges in refugees from the Middle East. However, few missing teeth, and manageable caries-gradient at the time of registration indicate that most refugees have the prerequisites for a good dentition, provided they get the necessary treatment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration, particularly the personnel at the reception centers Bjørnebekk, Bærum, Dikemark, Drammen, Hobøl, Moss, Skedsmo and Tønsberg. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, but interpretation services were supported by the Norwegian Directory of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Behavioral Science, Institute of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1109, Blindern, 0317, Oslo, Norway

    Ann C. Høyvik & Tiril Willumsen

  2. Sorlandet Hospital, Kristiansand, Norway

    Birgit Lie

  3. Northern State Medical University, Arkhangelsk, Russia

    Andrej M. Grjibovski

  4. North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Russia

    Andrej M. Grjibovski

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  1. Ann C. Høyvik
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Correspondence to Ann C. Høyvik.

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All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Norwegian Ethics Committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.

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Høyvik, A.C., Lie, B., Grjibovski, A.M. et al. Oral Health Challenges in Refugees from the Middle East and Africa: A Comparative Study. J Immigrant Minority Health 21, 443–450 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0781-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0781-y

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