Periodontal conditions, remaining teeth and oral hygiene habits in a group of Vietnamese refugees in Norway

Abstract

Since 1975, about 3500 Vietnamese refugees have come to Norway. The purpose of the present study was to report on remaining teeth and periodontal conditions in a population of 200 adolescent and adult Vietnamese refugees. The mean number of remaining teeth ranged from 27.8 in the youngest age group to 24.6 in the oldest. This number of teeth is slightly lower than reported from Norwegian populations, but similar to other Asian populations. Almost all index teeth showed dental plaque, and subgingival calculus was observed in 9 of 10 teeth after the age of 20. Gingival bleeding was seen on all index sites of 26.5% of the subjects and all subjects above the age of 40 had gingivitis adjacent to one or more index teeth. There was a progression of probeable pocket depths with increasing age. In the oldest age group, 72.7% had pockets between 3.5 mm and 5.5 mm. The data indicated that if optimal conditions should be obtained, substantial resources would be required. In populations with limited resources and with relatively few subjects with severe periodontal breakdown, it is suggested that an identification of subjects "at risk" to be dentally handicapped through loss of teeth, should be a priority.