Prevalence of oral diseases among adolescents in prisons in Taiwan: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of oral disease in Taiwanese adolescent prisoners.

METHODS

We included 1,610 participants from the National Health Insurance (NHI) Program. Outcomes were measured using the clinical version of the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9-CM).

RESULTS

The prevalence rate of oral diseases among adolescent prisoners in Taiwan was 29.38%, which was slightly higher among male (30.02%) adolescent prisoners than among female (27.34%) adolescent prisoners (p = 0.316). Among all the patients diagnosed with oral diseases, the top three disease categories were hard tissues of teeth diseases (19.01%), gingival and periodontal diseases (7.70%), and diseases of the oral soft tissues, excluding lesions specific for the gingiva and tongue (4.16%).

CONCLUSION

Oral disease is not rare among Taiwanese adolescent prisoners. Early prevention and appropriate treatments are important. It is also essential to explore sex-specific needs for this subpopulation.