Oral health promotion for refugees and asylum seekers in Hong Kong

Abstract

Aims: The aims of this community health project were to improve the oral health of refugees and asylum seekers, to increase their awareness of having good oral health, and to investigate their oral health conditions and behaviours. Methods: The participants were recruited through two non-government organisations (NGOs). Provision of outreach dental service to the project participants took place in three days at The Vine Church located in Wanchai. Each participant provided an informed consent and filled in a questionnaire. Then they were clinically examined and subsequently received necessary simple dental treatments. Oral health education and information on the available public dental services were provided. Results: A total of 83 children and adults participated in this project. Most of them were from Southeast Asia, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Close to 90% of the participants had been staying in Hong Kong for more than five years. Two thirds of them reported brushing their teeth twice or more daily but most of them did not have the habit of daily interdental cleaning. Three quarters of the adult participants had experienced dental problems, most of which were associated with pain. Among these participants, around half chose self-care or did not take any action. A quarter of the participants had never seen a dentist in Hong Kong and the most common was financial concerns. Nearly 90% of the preschool children had untreated dental caries and their mean dt score was 4.6. Two-thirds of the adult participants had active dental caries and their mean DT score was 2.2. Around 80% of the adults had periodontal pockets of at least 4 mm deep. In this project, two thirds of the adult participants received scaling. SDF solution was applied to a total of 83 teeth and 32 ART restorations were placed as treatments for the decayed teeth. Conclusion: The oral hygiene practices of the participants of the present project were generally satisfactory but their interdental cleaning habits needed to be improved. It is common for the refugees and asylum seekers in Hong Kong to have encountered dental problems associated with pain and a high proportion of them manage their dental problem through self-care. The most prominent barrier for seeking professional dental care is financial concern. The prevalences of untreated dental caries and periodontitis are high among the adult refugees and asylum seekers in Hong Kong. In this project, informative oral health education and appropriate dental treatments had been successfully provided to the participants.