Division of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Montreal Children's Hospital, 1040 Atwater Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3Z 1X3, Canada.
J Immigr Minor Health. 2019 Aug;21(4):693-698. doi: 10.1007/s10903-018-0835-1.
This study aimed to assess the oral health status of refugee children in comparison with that of Canadian children. In addition, we investigated the extent to which demographic factors are associated with caries experience in this population. Children with a confirmed refugee status and Canadian children (control group) matched for age and sex composed the study population. A comprehensive review of dental charts was completed to assess children's demographic data, caries experience, oral hygiene and gingival health status. The majority of refugee children had never seen a dentist before their arrival to Canada. Refugee children had significant higher dmft/DMFT scores than Canadian children (7.29 ± 5.1 and 4.47 ± 5, respectively; p < 0.0001). Furthermore, individual factors, such as refugee status (OR = 5.08; 95% CI = 2.31-11.1) and child age (OR = 2.17; 95% CI = 1.04-4.51) were significantly associated with caries experience. Access to appropriate dental care to refugee children should be a key priority for health care providers and policy makers.
本研究旨在评估难民儿童的口腔健康状况，并与加拿大儿童进行比较。此外，我们还调查了人口统计学因素与该人群龋齿经历的关联程度。具有确认难民身份的儿童和按年龄和性别匹配的加拿大儿童（对照组）构成了研究人群。通过全面审查牙科图表，评估了儿童的人口统计学数据、龋齿经历、口腔卫生和牙龈健康状况。大多数难民儿童在抵达加拿大之前从未看过牙医。难民儿童的 dmft/DMFT 评分显著高于加拿大儿童（分别为 7.29±5.1 和 4.47±5；p<0.0001）。此外，难民身份（OR=5.08；95%CI=2.31-11.1）和儿童年龄（OR=2.17；95%CI=1.04-4.51）等个体因素与龋齿经历显著相关。为难民儿童提供适当的牙科保健服务应成为医疗保健提供者和政策制定者的首要任务。
