Dental health and dietary habits in Greek immigrant children in southern Sweden compared with Swedish and rural Greek children.

Dental health and dietary habits were surveyed in 40 Greek immigrant (GI) children, 2-8 years old, born and living in Helsingborg, Sweden; comparisons were made with 45 Swedish (S) and 54 rural Greek (G) children of the same age. The caries situation was virtually the same in the GI and the S group, where the primary teeth were caries-free in 31-33%, mainly children 2-3 years old. The G group had a higher incidence of decayed and filled tooth surfaces in both primary and permanent teeth than the other two groups and only 15% were caries-free in the primary teeth. The S group had the lowest gingival bleeding index. The distribution of the mutans streptococci and lactobacilli counts in saliva did not differ significantly between the three groups, except that the proportion of GI children with "not detectable" mutans streptococci was lower in either the S or the G group. The toothbrushing frequency was highest in the S group, followed by the GI group. Approximately 80% of the S children who brushed their teeth used a fluoride toothpaste compared to 50 and 55% respectively in the G and the GI group. The intake frequency for 5 out of 6 preselected snack-food items was highest in the G group. The carbohydrate content of the diet, including sucrose, was approximately the same in the three groups. Thus, the dental health and dietary habits of the Greek immigrant and the Swedish children were generally very similar, while the Greek rural children showed a less favourable cariological status.