Dental attendance of some of the common immigrant groups in Sweden

The aim of this study was to see how Greek, Polish, Turkish, Yugoslavian and Finnish immigrants utilized dental services offered, as compared to Swedes. The study covered the years 1976-79, using figures from the National Social Insurance Board (NSIB). All foreign citizens of the aforementioned groups born on the 20th of any month and living in the country of Stockholm were selected, together with a comparison group of Swedish citizens. During the 4 yr in question, only 31% of the Greeks, 50% of the Poles, 28% of the Turks, 40% of the Yugoslavs and 75% of the Finns visited a dentist in Sweden, while 87% of the Swedes did. Few immigrants except some Finns went annually. A great majority of all Greeks, Turks and Yugoslavs either saw a dentist only once or else not at all during the whole period. Emergency treatment was significantly more common for these groups than for Poles, Finns or Swedes. The study revealed a fragmentary and episodic use of the dental services offered to most common immigrant groups in Sweden.