[Dental treatment in the north area of Ishigaki Island in Okinawa].
Dental treatment and oral health care were performed on inhabitants in the north area of Ishigaki Island in Okinawa. There are no dentists in the area at present. One hundred sixty-six patients received treatment taking 528 man-days, during the period from November 9 to December 8, 2000. The area has 2 primary schools and 1 junior high school. The average DMFT of the children in the primary schools was 1.31, and in the junior high school it was 4.98. Compared with Japanese national survey data, the children in the area had a higher DMFT. Among the treatment procedures, the rate of conservative treatment was 62%, most of which was composite resin filling. Preventive measures for dental disease were offered to the inhabitants by means of topical fluoride application or oral health education. The period of this promotion was too short to perform complete dental treatment and to prevent caries and periodontal disease. It seems that primary prevention and higher dental hygiene education are needed for inhabitants in no-dentist areas, because the inhabitants do not have access to dental service easily.
Sonoda
H
H
Department of Restorative Sciences, Division of Oral Health Sciences, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University.
Nagasawa
H
H
Koizumi
T
T
Kasai
M
M
Nezu
Y
Y
Miura
H
H
Amagasa
T
T
Tagami
J
J
Kawaguchi
Y
Y
D003149:Community Dentistry / Q000379:methods*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D007564:Japan