Dental Caries Prevalence and Experience (ICDAS II Criteria) of 5-, 12- and 15-Year-Old Children and Adolescents with an Immigrant Background in Greece, Compared with the Host Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Iliana Diamanti,Constantine J Oulis,Argy Polychronopoulou,Elias D Berdouses,Katerina Kavvadia,Konstantinos N Arapostathis

doi:10.3390/ijerph19010014

Abstract

Evidence regarding disparities in oral health among native and immigrant child and adolescent populations in Europe is scarce. The present study aimed to determine the caries status of 5-, 12-, and 15-year-olds with an immigrant background in Greece in relation to their sociodemographic characteristics and compare their caries levels with those of their native Greek peers. A sample of 707 immigrants underwent clinical examination for caries (ICDAS II criteria), followed by a calculation of caries prevalence and experience estimates (2013–2014). Multivariable regression models assessed the effect of ethnic background on the caries experience (d3–6mfs/D3–6MFS) of the total (707 immigrants and 3702 Greeks) population, and the association between parental education level and the immigrants’ d3–6mfs/D3–6MFS. Among the 5- and 12-year-olds, those with an immigrant background demonstrated higher caries rates and had unfulfilled treatment needs at higher proportions. Among 15-year-old adolescents, no considerable differences in caries status were observed according to ethnic background (native Greek or immigrant). The strength of the association between immigrant background and caries experience levels attenuated gradually with increasing age (IRR = 1.61, 1.27 and 1.10, and p = 0.001, p = 0.006 and p = 0.331 for 5-, 12- and 15-year-olds, respectively). Among the immigrants, adolescents with less educated mothers exhibited elevated caries levels. Public health strategies should prioritize immigrant children and early adolescents in order to reduce the existing ethnic disparities in oral health.

Highlights

A sample of 707 5, 12- and 15-year-old children and adolescents with immigrant backgrounds were selected during a national pathfinder survey (2013–2014), as part of a sampling procedure involving the selection of 3702 5, 12- and 15-year-old subjects from the host population
The majority of children and adolescents with an immigrant background were born in Greece: 78.3%, 66.7% and 65.5% of the 5, 12- and
The present study is the first to attempt to depict a representative picture of the dental health status of the urban and rural immigrant child population in Greece; other investigations included only residents of one prefecture, and reported that possessing an immigrant background considerably increased the probability of poorer oral health outcomes in children up to 12 years of age [15,22]

Summary

Introduction

During the past three decades, Greece has been transformed from a migrant-sending country to a migrant-receiving country. Migrant inflows accelerated with the collapse of socialist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe at the beginning of the 1990s, with. Albania predominating as a source country [1]. According to the most recent census (2011), 7.8% (862,361 individuals) are non-Greek citizen residents, with Albanians continuing to dominate the ‘settled’ migrant population. They comprised 52.7% of the foreign population, distantly followed by Bulgarians and Romanians, who accounted for. Greece, Compared with the Host Population: A.

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