Many studies have examined the general health needs of refugees, but little is known about their oral health needs. To address this, research led by recently qualified dentist Khaleda Zaheer from Queen Mary University of London looked at the impact of oral symptoms on quality of life among refugees in Northern Greece.
Subjects were adults attending a mobile dental clinic operated by the charity Health-Point Foundation in refugee camps in Northern Greece in July/August 2017, which was the only source of oral care available to them. 156 participants completed the questionnaire (73 per cent male and 27 per cent female, 59 per cent aged 18-34; 32 per cent aged 35-49 and 9 per cent aged 50+).
The participants reported a high prevalence of oral symptoms that had an adverse impact on their quality of life. 81 per cent reported oral symptoms and 52 per cent of these had them on arrival. 58 per cent had received dental treatment in the camp and 14 per cent had never seen a dentist.
The most common reported symptoms were pain (27 per cent), cavities (19 per cent), bleeding gums (16 per cent) and missing teeth (12 per cent). Other reported symptoms included difficulty with chewing, sleeping and speech.
Refugees who had spent less than one month in the camp reported poorer oral health compared to those that spent longer in the camps and had access to dental care.
Future research is required to map the oral health needs of this population and design an effective strategy to address this.