Oral Health-Related Quality of Life and Oral Health Status among Myanmar Refugees in Resettlement Camps in Hyderabad, Telangana - An Evaluative Study.

CONTEXT: There is a high prevalence of oral disease and unmet oral healthcare needs in refugee population. This study aims to correlate Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) with dentition and periodontal status among Myanmar refugees in resettlement camps in Hyderabad, Telangana.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

The study included Myanmar refugees aged 18 years and above who were registered under United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Refugee mandate and have refugee status card. Also, only participants who can read and understand the Burmese language and gave written consent were included. Validated Myanmar translated version of OHIP-14 was used to assess OHRQoL. Dentition and periodontal status were examined by single calibrated examiner according to WHO criteria.

RESULTS

Caries prevalence in this group of 208 participants was found to be 64.9% with a mean DMFT of 3.59 ± 3.7. Multiple logistic regression analysis reveals that a history of dental visits had significantly higher odds of poor OHRQoL (OR = 4.45; P = 0.00). Variables like age (OR = 0.30; P = 0.00), absence of gingivitis (OR = 0.11; P = 0.03) and periodontal pocket (OR = 0.32; P = 0.00) showed significantly lower odds for poor OHRQoL in this population.

CONCLUSIONS

This study concluded that compromised oral health conditions among Myanmar refugees significantly affected their OHRQoL. This study also highlights the urgent need to address oral healthcare needs of this refugee population.