Oral Health of Lipjan Convicts: Kosovo Prison House

Assessment of Oral Health Status in a Prison Population in Northern Portugal

BACKGROUND

Prisoners constitute one of the disadvantaged groups and it is observed that these individuals suffer from poor oral hygiene and the prevalence of oral diseases is higher compared to the general population.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The aim of this study is to assess the state of the oral health in a prison population in Northern Portugal. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted involving 103 male prisoners with age between 25 and 75 years old. A questionnaire was presented to all the prisoners and an intraoral clinical examination was performed in each of them.

RESULTS

The sample mean age was 41.58 ± 8.94 years. Most participants consume sugary foods, with 32% consuming then on a daily basis. It was noticed that 13.6% of the participants do not brush their teeth. Most of the prisoners smoke (78.6%) and 70 smoke more than 10 cigarettes per day. The mean DMFT was 17.17 ± 8.23 and the component with the highest weight was the number of missing teeth, with a mean value of 13.14 ± 8.32. It was observed that 7 individuals are edentulous and 64 (62.1%) have caries lesions. It has been noted that of the 64 individuals presenting caries lesions, 47 (73.4%) eat sugary foods, however this relationship is not statistically significant. It was found that the prevalence of periodontal health was 26%, gingivitis was 32.3% and periodontitis was 41.7%. Plaque Index was evaluated according to the periodontal condition, it was observed a significantly lower level of plaque index in the periodontally healthy subjects compared to the subjects with gingivitis and the subjects with periodontitis.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of oral diseases in this prison population is high, as is the loss of teeth. Dental caries is the most observed oral disease, and periodontitis the most common of the periodontal diseases. Key words:Prisoners, Oral health, Caries, DMFT, Periodontitis, Oral diseases.

Oral health services in prison settings: A global scoping review of availability, accessibility, and model of delivery

This review aimed at evaluating the state of availability, accessibility and model of delivery of oral health services in prisons, globally. Five databases of peer-reviewed literature and potential sources of grey literature were systematically searched. Inclusion criteria encompassed oral health papers related to prisons globally, with exclusion of certain article types. Selection involved independent evaluations by two researchers, followed by quality assessment. Data on the availability of oral health interventions in prisons came from 18 countries, while information on the model of delivery of the services is scarce. In addition, two sets of individual and organizational barriers toward oral health service uptake in prisons were revealed and discussed in the text. Lack of oral health services in prisons affects people living in prisons and jeopardizes their reintegration. Urgent and concrete international actions are required to ensure the availability, accessibility, and quality of oral health services among people living in prisons.

Oral health among prisoners of District Jail, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India - A cross-sectional study

AIM

Prisoners are at risk from a range of health related problems, caused by a number of factors. This study was conducted to assess the impact of incarceration on oral health among the prisoners of Haridwar District Jail, Uttarakhand state.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

A total of 573 inmates (534 males and 39 females) comprised the total study population. Oral health was examined with the Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth (DMFT) index, and by measuring pocket depth (PD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL).

RESULTS

The age of the study participants ranged between 18 to 90 years with a mean age of 46.14 ± 15.29 years. The overall mean DMFT score was 5.40±6.49, with a prevalence of 77%. A significant difference (P=0.001) was found when the mean score of DMFT was compared to the period of incarceration, where the highest mean score was 6.97±7.69 for 5-10 years.

DISCUSSION

There was a significant difference found for DMFT among inmates based on a period of incarceration. Gender and period of incarceration had no significant impact on the severity of periodontal diseases among jail inmates. Longitudinal studies are required to find out the causal association between incarceration and oral health. Comprehensive and timely oral health care is required for this vulnerable population.

CONCLUSION

The level of oral disease among jail inmates was high. There was a significant difference for DMFT among inmates based on the period of incarceration.

Applications of teledentistry in a French inmate population: A one-year observational study

Teledentistry oral examination protocol was evaluated for one year at the Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone Correctional Facility. The aim of the study was to simplify the obligatory dental consultation protocol at the entrance visit for new detainees. 1051 detainees were enrolled and 651 of them (58.9%) accepted an oral examination by teledentistry throughout the entire year of 2018. Only 1 inmate did not need treatment and 88.06% of those who have been examined had at least one untreated cavitated carious lesion. Forty-four percent of people who received a teledentistry check-up were referred to a dentist with a dental emergency. The use of teledentistry at the entry visit in a detention facility may facilitate the oral health screening without wasting the dentist’s time, and may allow an optimization of the inmate’s oral healthcare.