Eeva Widström

From amalgam to composite: selection of restorative materials and restoration longevity in Finland

The aim of this study was to obtain information on restorative dental care in Finland and to analyze the changes in treatment over a 5-year period. A random sample of dentists was drawn from the registers of the health authorities and the dental association in Finland, and in the spring of 1997 a questionnaire was sent requesting the dentists to record information for each restoration placed during a given period. A total of 1,229 dentists were contacted, and 659 responded. The dentists treated 5,305 adults during the study period and placed 6,322 restorations. The most common restorative material was composite resin, which was used in 74.9% of the restorations, whereas amalgam was used in 4.8% and glass ionomers in 9.4% of the restorations. The median ages of failed restorations were nearly 12 years for amalgam, slightly less than 5 years for composite, and slightly more than 4 years for glass ionomer. The results indicate that clinical dentistry in Finland has made a definite step towards the post-amalgam era. However, the functional periods of the failed tooth-colored restorations were disappointingly short and warrant some serious consideration.

Analysis of patients utilizing emergency dental care in two Finnish cities

The use of emergency dental services was surveyed by interviewing patients seeking treatment during hours of organized emergency service in two large cities in Finland. It was spread rather evenly over all the days of the week. Marked differences were found between the volume of dental emergencies in the two cities. More than 60% of the patients had been in pain for 1 to 3 days and needed immediate help. One-third of the emergency visits were made by 20- to 29-year-olds. No significant differences in use of the services were found between men and women, although a larger proportion of women than men claimed to visit a dentist regularly and to have a dentist of their own. Fourteen per cent had failed to get an appointment with their regular dentist. More than 40% of the patients had used the emergency services previously. These patients, more often than first-time users, visited a dentist irregularly, did not have their own dentist, and were content with the rapid service at the emergency clinic.

Dental health and perceived treatment needs of Finnish immigrants in Sweden.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the dental health and perceived treatment needs of Finnish immigrants in Sweden, using a representative sample and questionnaire technique. The material consisted of a random sample of 1332 persons aged 20–59 years, resident in a Stockholm suburb. The response rate was 80%. Validity of the questionnaire was tested in a subgroup by comparing the number of teeth reported present in the questionnaire with the number observed clinically. Correlation coefficient (r) was 0.98. Compared with a study of Swedes, the mean number of remaining teeth was found to be lower and the proportion of edentulous persons higher in this study. The mean number of teeth was, however, higher than that found in a clinical study of Finnish immigrants 5 years previously, indicating a possible slight improvement in the dental health of Finnish immigrants. Almost 70% of the younger and about 45% of the older respondents had a perceived treatment need, primarily for fillings and scaling, older respondents also requiring prostheses. The real treatment need was probably greater than the study indicated. The study shows that Finnish immigrants to Sweden, as a social group, are in great need of dental treatment.

Dental visiting patterns of Finns and Swedes in Sweden, 1976–1980

Information on treatment provided to a random (cluster) sample of all adult patients treated under the dental insurance scheme in Sweden since 1974 is stored at the National Social Insurance Board (NSIB). In this study the use of dental services by settled Finnish immigrants and Swedes over a 5-year period (1976-80) was compared, using this information. The material consisted of 1152 17- to 64-year-old Finnish immigrants, selected in accordance with the same criteria as the NSIB sample, registered on the population register of Stockholm county in 1975 and still on the register in 1982, and a comparison group of individually matched Swedes. Standard NSIB computer programs and a special program for recurrent use of dental services in 1976-79 were used. Because of regulations on confidentiality of personal information, comparisons were based on inter-group differences. Each year about 40% of Finnish immigrants and 50% of Swedes had been to a dentist. In both groups women visited a dentist more frequently. The proportion of persons in the different groups who had used dental services in the period 1976-80 varied only slightly from year to year. In the 4-year period 1976-79, 74% of Finnish immigrants and 87% of Swedes in the studied groups had been to a dentist at least once. Significantly more Swedes than Finnish immigrants had seen a dentist annually. Of those who had been to a dentist, a significantly greater proportion of Finnish immigrants than Swedes had received acute treatment and dentures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Use of Dental Services by Finnish Immigrants in Sweden Assessed by Questionnaire

The purpose of this work was to assess the dental visiting behaviour of Finnish immigrants in Sweden, and factors which determined this. The initial material consisted of a probability sample of 1332 Finnish citizens aged 20 to 59 years, resident in a Stockholm suburb. The response rate was 80%. About 23% of the respondents had never been to a dentist in Sweden. They were mostly newly immigrated and had a poor knowledge of Swedish. About 36% of the subjects visited a dentist in Sweden regularly (at least every second year), a lower rate than reported from studies on Swedish populations. Twenty-three per cent of the subjects had on some occasion been to a dentist in Finland while resident in Sweden. Difficulty in getting an appointment, indifference, fear, language difficulties and poor knowledge of the dental care system in Sweden were mentioned as reasons for not attending a dentist. Thus prevailing attitudes as well as the many other problems in connection with immigration seemed to result in dental health being given low priority by Finnish immigrants in Sweden.