Dental Visits, Dental Health Status and Need for Dental Treatment in a Danish Industrial Population

Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to study the utilization of dental services, the distribution of dental diseases and treatment needs in a Danish industrial population. The study covered the male population at a Danish shipyard, and a sample of 988 workers and clerical and managerial staff was drawn by stratified random sampling. 841 persons were interviewed regarding dental visits and attitudes towards dental health services and data on dental health and treatment needs were collected. 61% of the participants aged 15–64 years made regular dental visits at least once a year. The percentages of regular visitors varied according to age and occupation, from 68 to 82% among clerical staff to 34 to 51% among workers. The mean DMF-T increased from 16.6 in the age group 15–24 to 27.0 among the 55–64-year-olds. Untreated dental decay was predominant among workers and persons never seeing a dentist, whereas there were more filled teeth and fewer missing teeth among staff and regular visitors. The periodontal status was less satisfactory in the older age groups and among workers, and most denture wearers were found in the age group 35–64 and among workers. Concordant to the findings on dental health status, dental treatment needs due to caries and periodontal disease as well as prosthetic treatment needs varied according to age, occupation and dental visits. More radical treatment types were needed in the older age groups, among workers and non-regular visitors. The present study seems to indicate that dental diseases in the adult Danish population are not under control.