Dental health of Chatham Islanders: an investigation of the oral health of Chatham Islands residents

Abstract

<h4>Objectives</h4>To examine the self-reported and clinical oral health of Chatham Islanders.<h4>Design</h4>A cross-sectional oral health survey.<h4>Setting</h4>The Chatham Islands community.<h4>Participants and methods</h4>The investigation involved completion of dental self-report questionnaires by children who attended Chatham Islands schools, and adults who responded to a dental flyer.<h4>Results</h4>Eighty-seven children and 189 adults took part, all of whom had oral health examinations. Among the children, the prevalence of dental caries in the deciduous dentition was 67.8 percent, and the mean dfs, mean DFS and mean number of missing deciduous teeth due to caries were 5.9 (sd, 6.2), 0.5 (sd, 1.1) and 0.3 (sd, 0.8) respectively. Caries severity was higher in children who were episodic dental attenders, who had irregular brushing habits or whose dental experiences had had a negative impact on their lives. In adults, the prevalence of caries was 81.5 percent. The mean DFS and mean number of missing permanent teeth due to caries were 37.9 (sd, 13.1) and 4.7 (sd, 3.8) respectively. On average, caries severity was higher among infrequent and episodic dental attenders, irregular brushers and those for whom dental problems had had a negative life impact.<h4>Conclusions</h4>While the oral health of Chatham Islands children is comparable with that of children in New Zealand, Chatham Islands adults may be dentally disadvantaged due to limited access to dental resources. The findings have important implications for the planning of dental health services for this remote area, and may provide a useful framework from which further investigations of remote community-dwellers' oral health may be developed.