Dental health status and treatment needs in the infantry regiment of the Malaysian Territorial Army

The aim of this study was to determine the dental health status and treatment needs of personnel in the Infantry Regiment of the Malaysian Territorial Army (TA). This cross-sectional study involved stratified and systematic random sampling with a total sample size of 300. Dental health status and tr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jasmin, B., Jaafar, N.
Format: Article
Language:English
English
Published: SAGE Publications 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/3484/1/Malaysian_Teritorial_Army.pdf
http://eprints.um.edu.my/3484/2/Dental_Health_Status_and_Treatment_Needs_in_the_Infantry_Regiment_of_the_Malaysian_Territorial_Army.pdf
http://eprints.um.edu.my/3484/
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Summary:The aim of this study was to determine the dental health status and treatment needs of personnel in the Infantry Regiment of the Malaysian Territorial Army (TA). This cross-sectional study involved stratified and systematic random sampling with a total sample size of 300. Dental health status and treatment needs were assessed using the standard WHO oral assessment criteria (1997). The prevalence of caries experience was 96 (mean +/- SD DMFT decayed, missing, filled teeth = 8.0 +/- 5.5). Active decay prevalence was high (85%; mean +/- SD = 3.6 +/- 3.1) indicating high unmet treatment need. Missing teeth prevalence was high (69%; mean +/- SD = 2.8 +/- 3.7). Filled teeth prevalence was low (56%, mean +/- SD = 1.5 +/- 2.0). In all, 90% of participants required some form of dental treatment, of whom 85% required restorative treatment, 5% advanced restorative treatment, 36.7% extractions, and 45.3% prosthetic treatment. These findings suggest that there was a high need for dental treatment in the Infantry Battalions of Malaysian TA Regiments and the service must be made available to cater to the needs.