The oral health status among residents of the Magadan Oblast, Russian Far East.

In April 1991, an oral health situation analysis team comprising oral health professionals from the Alaska Area Native Health Service, the World Health Organization, and the Moscow Medical Stomatological Institute visited the Magadan region of the Soviet Far East at the request of the Ministries of Health of both the Russian Republic and the then-Soviet Union. As few oral health data had been available specific to the Magadan region, the purpose of the trip was to gather data concerning oral diseases epidemiology, demography, and health systems of the communities of Magadan, Seymchan, and Provideniya as the basis for recommendations and plan development. The data were collected using standard WHO methodology. The analysis team examined children in the age cohorts of 3-5, 6-7, 12, and 15 years. In addition, adults aged 35-44 and 65-74 years were examined in Magadan and Seymchan. Both caries and periodontal rates are high, with a rate of 4.3 DMFT among 12-year-olds in the total region, but up to 5.4 DMFT in one location. Specific findings and recommendations have been forwarded to local community and health officials. The project is ongoing, and plans are underway to provide continuing assistance in designing and implementing an effective program for the prevention and treatment of oral diseases.