Disadvantaged migrants may face important oral and dental care needs

In the 1951 Refugee Convention, the United Nations Organization states that refugees must have access to health services in their host country,1 including dental care. For nearly a decade, European countries have been facing an unprecedented refugee crisis, raising major public health issues and challenging the ability of host countries to deliver appropriate care to those people.

Disadvantaged migrant populations face risk factors that can affect their oral health among other health issues. The purpose of this study was to explore the oral care needs of these populations and to identify the obstacles they might encounter in accessing dental care.

A cross-sectional study using secondary data was carried out in the Centre Médical Louis Guilloux in Rennes, France, a health centre offering dental consults to migrants. The data were obtained by clinical oral examination and analysed according to various criteria: the reason for consultation, diagnosis, treatment plan, drug prescriptions, and referrals to other practitioners.

The results of the study are:

• A high prevalence of decay was observed amongst the patients (72.3%).
• Fifty-nine patients were identified as needing major oral health care amongst the 130 files that were analysed.
• The lack of proficiency in the host country's language was associated with a major need for oral care (P < .02).

Thus, this study highlights that disadvantaged migrants face important oral care needs in France. It suggests alternative actions that should be carried out to improve their access to dental care, including access to interpreting.

Reference:

Camille Pichemin, Emile Boyer, Pascal Jarno, Valérie Bertaud, Vincent Meuric, Antoine Couatarmanach, Oral Care Needs Amongst Disadvantaged Migrants in France, International Dental Journal, Volume 72, Issue 4, 2022, Pages 559-564, ISSN 0020-6539 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.identj.2021.12.002.