Oral health in a convenience sample of Chinese older adults living in Melbourne, Australia

Objectives To present data on the dental and periodontal status of a convenience sample of 101 ambulant Chinaborn older adults who now live in Melbourne. These older adults participated in a study to assess the prevalence of specific oral diseases. Methods Participants were interviewed in Cantonese using a structured questionnaire and received an oral examination to assess dental and periodontal status using the DMFS/T and CPI indices, respectively. Results This sample was largely a dentate one (94.1%); with a mean Decayed, Filled and Missing tooth surfaces (DMFS) score of 57.5 (SD 37.9). Approximately, 80% of the dentate sample had all their restorative needs met; 25% had a sound periodontium; 41% needed oral hygiene instruction plus scaling, while 6.3% required complex periodontal therapy. Compared with existing data on the oral health of older adults in Australia, Chinese immigrant older adults appear to have lower DMFS scores, a lower number of untreated decayed surfaces, a lower prevalence of gingivitis, and less need for complex periodontal treatment. Conclusion These tentative findings provide an initial assessment of the risk of oral diseases among a group immigrant older adults. This study highlights the need to collect relevant information in order to identify factors that influence the oral health of older immigrants to Australia.