Periodontal disease and oral hygiene among new immigrants to Israel from three regions of origin.

The purpose of the present investigation was to gather information on the prevalence of periodontal disease and oral cleanliness status of new immigrants to Israel. A comparison was made between the different regions of origin. New immigrants, residents of four absorption centers in Israel, who arrived in Israel no more than three months prior to the date of their examination, were included in the study. Altogether, 1031 immigrants (417 Eastern Europeans, 338 Western Europeans/North Americans and 276 South Americans) were examined. During the examination periodontal status and oral hygiene were checked. Periodontal status was recorded according to Russell's Periodontal Index (PI). The oral cleanliness was assessed according to Greene and Vermillion's Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S). A markedly lower prevalence of periodontal diseases and a significantly better oral cleanliness were demonstrated by the West European/North American group as compared to the other two groups. The South American group, as intermediate group, exhibited significantly lower mean PI and OHI-S scores as compared to the East Europeans. Generally, the same distribution of prevalence of periodontal diseases between the three groups were found by the respective age groups. The results demonstrated a significant increase in prevalence of periodontal diseases, by age. Oral cleanliness showed a trend to deteriorate by age, but not significantly so. A sex difference was apparent in the prevalence of periodontal diseases and in oral hygiene. Low OHI-S scores (indicating improved oral hygiene) were associated with the low PI scores (indicating better periodontal status) in the whole study population and within the different regions of origin.