[The dental status of schoolchildren from abroad in Canton Zurich 1992 to 1994].

Between 1992 and 1994 DMF-experience was determined in several hundred schoolchildren from the City of Zurich and 16 small communities distributed over the whole Canton. Immigrants were distinguished from permanently resident children with respect to their length of residence. Children who had arrived after the age of 5 or 6 (kindergarten-age) showed higher caries prevalence; e.g., at the age of 12, 2.00 (16 communities) and 3.14 (City of Zurich) as compared to 1.13 and 1.24 DMFT. Children in special classes for learning German, who had arrived from former Yugoslavia the year before, had 3.64 DMFT at the age of 12. All the children, whether Swiss nationals or non-citizens, who were integrated into the school dental service of the City, had satisfactory treatment levels. In contrast, recent immigrants from former Yugoslavia had about half of their diseased teeth unfilled and often badly destroyed. Therefore, fortnightly tooth-brushings were introduced as a first measure to lower caries activity.