title: Dental health status and treatment needs in the infantry regiment of the Malaysian Territorial Army.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the dental health status and treatment needs of personnel in the Infantry Regiment of the Malaysian Territorial Army (TA).This cross-sectional study involved stratified and systematic random sampling with a total sample size of 300. Dental health status and treatment needs were assessed using the standard WHO oral assessment criteria (1997). The prevalence of caries experience was 96% (mean ± SD DMFT [decayed, missing, filled teeth] = 8.0 ± 5.5). Active decay prevalence was high (85%; mean ± SD = 3.6 ± 3.1) indicating high unmet treatment need. Missing teeth prevalence was high (69%; mean ± SD = 2.8 ± 3.7). Filled teeth prevalence was low (56%, mean ± SD = 1.5 ± 2.0). In all, 90% of participants required some form of dental treatment, of whom 85% required restorative treatment, 5% advanced restorative treatment, 36.7% extractions, and 45.3% prosthetic treatment. These findings suggest that there was a high need for dental treatment in the Infantry Battalions of Malaysian TA Regiments and the service must be made available to cater to the needs.
authors.affiliation: Health Services Division, Ministry of Defence, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. bor_mpk@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Borhan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jasmin
authors.forename: Nasruddin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jaafar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003752:Dental Health Services; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009909:Oral Health; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult