AIM: To facilitate the planning of future dental services, this study sought baseline data, relating to @entity1547 experience and dental attendance, for Somali @entity1 resident in Sheffield, UK. METHODS: A convenience sample of 4 to 14 year old Somali @entity1 was drawn from pupils attending Somali religious education classes, youth groups and selected schools in Sheffield. During 1998 and 1999, 238 Somali @entity1 were subjected to a dental examination and a structured interview. RESULTS: The mean age of the study population was 9.4 years with equal male and female distribution. The majority of @entity1 (58%) had been born in Somalia compared with 29% in the UK or 13% in another country. Just over half of the sample had English-speaking mothers. The mean dmft for 4 to 6 year olds was 2.12 and 50% demonstrated a past @entity1547 experience. In the 7 to 10 year old group, mean dmft was 2.05 and @entity1547 had again affected 50% of subjects. Mean DMFT for 11 to 14 year olds was 1.37 and 58% showed evidence of previous @entity1547 experience. The mother's reported ability to speak English was a strong predictor of @entity1547 experience in the group as a whole. Interestingly, an English-speaking mother was associated with low @entity1547 prevalence in young @entity1 , but with high @entity1547 prevalence in @entity1 over the age of 7 years. Finally, only 57% of subjects had seen a dentist within the previous 12 months, and almost half of these visits had been prompted because of a specific problem. CONCLUSION: It is evident that some Somali @entity1 have a high @entity1547 experience, with mother's ability to speak English being the greatest predictor of @entity7291 . Preventive strategies need to be developed for this population and regular dental attendance should be encouraged.

Caries experience and dental attendance of Somali XXXX living in a British city.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children'] @entity1547 :: ('MESH:D003731', 'Disease') :: ['caries'] @entity7291 :: ('MESH:D009057', 'Disease') :: ['dental disease']
@entity1 :: (9606,Species) :: ['children']
