The dental health of Indo‐Chinese and Australian‐born adolescents

Since 1975, more than 100 000 Indo‐Chinese refugees from Vietnam, Kampuchea, and Laos have been resettled in Australia. This dental survey was undertaken to compare the dental health of 104 Australian‐born and 126 Indo‐Chinese adolescents from a State high school within a high migrant area of Melbourne. The mean DMFT score for the Australian‐born group was 3.37 teeth, compared with 6.05 for the Vietnamese group, and 3.10 for the Kampuchean‐Laotian group. More restorations and extractions were required by the Vietnamese subjects compared with the Australian‐born and Kampuchean‐Laotian subjects. Almost all subjects had gingivitis, however the proportion of Indo‐Chinese subjects with shallow and deep pockets was greater than that of the Australian‐born subjects. The periodontal health of the Kampucheans and Laotians was the most severe of the Indo‐Chinese groups. These findings indicate that the Indo‐Chinese adolescent refugees represent a high risk group for dental problems within the Australian population.