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Background: The Syrian conflict has had a massive impact on the dental health of refugees. Dental extraction is a good indicator of socioeconomic position and degree of oral hygiene, however there is a scarcity of evidence in the scientific literature that characterizes the reasons for extraction in refugees., Aims and Methods: The current study looked at the extraction causes and related sociodemographic variables of 322 Syrian refugees (46.3% females, 53.7% males) who were treated in a dental clinic in Zaatari camp (Jordan), from September to December 2019. All child Syrian refugees (aged 4-16) visiting the facility were eligible to participate. A validated semi-structured survey was used to collect clinical and sociodemographic data from the research sample. Chi-square test, Independent sample t-test, and ANOVA test were used to examine associations between the different variables. The significance level was set at P < 0.05., Results: The total number of teeth extracted was 397: 25 (6.3%) permanent teeth, 371 (93.5%) primary teeth, and one mesiodens (0.2%). Overall, lower teeth were most commonly extracted (56.9%). The most common teeth that required extraction were the lower primary molars, with lower left primary second molars being the most commonly extracted (15.9%). As the level of parental education increased, the mean number of extracted teeth decreased (P = 0.035), additionally, as the frequency of toothbrushing increased extractions due to caries decreased significantly (P = 0.027)., Conclusions: Dental caries and pulpal diseases were discovered to be the most prevalent causes for primary and permanent tooth extraction, with no difference between males and females. The lower left primary molar was the most commonly afflicted tooth., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To characterise the oral hygiene habits, attitudes, and oral health practices in relation to sociodemographic factors among refugees in Jordan and to investigate their impact on the oral health status of these refugees., Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of two parts. First, a face-to-face interview was conducted using a structured questionnaire including demographic and oral health-related questions. Second, clinical oral examination was performed using WHO criteria, DMFT and oral health indices (OHI-S). The participants were adults, aged 18 and older. All patients attending dental clinics and accompanying personnel in the waiting areas at Zaatari camp during the study period were invited to participate, with a sample size of 547 refugees (males = 212, females = 335)., Results: 547 adult refugees participated. 75.3% reported toothbrushing less than twice daily, while flossing was uncommon (9.5%). Toothbrushing habits were significantly associated with gender and smoking status. Untreated carious lesions had a high incidence (94.1%); the mean number of decayed teeth was 5.4 and was statistically significantly higher in males and smokers. The mean number of missing teeth was 3.2 and was significantly associated with males, age, smoking, and presence of chronic disease. Participants who reported conditions that had persisted 1 year or more and required ongoing medical attention or limited activities of daily living or both (e.g. diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart diseases, thyroid disease, chronic renal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, anemia, peptic ulcer, or asthma) were recorded as having chronic disease. The mean number of filled teeth was 3.2 and was statistically significantly associated with age and presence of chronic disease. The mean DMFT was 11.8 and was statistically significantly higher in males, older people, smokers, and those with chronic disease. The OHI-S was 2.2. The most common complaint was pain (92.2%), and only 1.1% visited a dentist for a check-up., Conclusion: The prevalence of caries was extremely high, with poor oral hygiene practices among refugees, justifying the urgent need to develop and implement targeted oral health promotion, preventive programs and curative strategies and to enable collaboration of the oral healthcare providers and funding agencies to design the most appropriate interventions for this disadvantaged population. In addition, this information can be used as a basis upon which preventive programs can be assessed for efficacy.