Oral health and medical conditions among Amish children

Abstract

Background: The Amish are a growing population who live a traditional, rural way of life, which makes them less accepting of modernism. Most Amish live in poverty and are detached from modern health care. In addition, the recent change of their lifestyle has been reported, such as consuming a nontraditional diet and the usage of electronic devices. As a result, their lifestyle change may have impacted their oral health. However, since only a single report about oral health among Amish children has been published approximately three decades ago it has not yet been updated. This study describes oral health among Amish children and their medical conditions during visits to a mobile dental unit (MDU). Material and Methods: The dental records of all patients (N=216) who visited a mobile dental unit were reviewed, which covers 1 year from May 20, 2011, the first date of service. The following factors were taken into consideration during the review process: parental perceptions of their children’s oral health care, dental care experiences, and general health information. Results: Fifty-four (27.8%) children, ages 3 to 17, have never received dental treatment before visiting the MDU; the average number of untreated decayed teeth was 6.8. In spite of this, most parents rated their children’s oral health as good or very good (87.7%). The high cost and long distance travel associated with routine, professional dental care makes it difficult for children to maintain good oral hygiene. Our analysis revealed that bleeding disorders were more prevalent among this gene pool compared to the nation at large; however, asthma was less common. Conclusions: There are oral and general health disparities among Amish children. There is a lack of awareness among Amish parents with regard to their children’s oral health. Key words:Amish, child, dental caries, mobile health units.

The impact of dental caries on the oral health-related quality of life in children

“…The majority of the children (54.55%) had a dmfs of 7 or greater, 35.08% had a dmfs of 10 or greater, and 41.55% had a dmft of 5 or greater. As discussed in Chapter II, there are only two known studies which assessed the oral health of the Amish, one published in 1988, the other in 2017 (Bagramian et al, 1988;Heima et al, 2017). Therefore, given the scant literature, comparing the caries experience of this study sample to other groups of Amish children was arduous.…”

“…The authors attributed the low levels of disease to dietary patterns, which reportedly consisted of low-sugar diets and infrequent betweenmeal snacking (Bagramian et al, 1988). Heima et al, 2017, assessed oral health and medical conditions among Amish children in Geauga county, Ohio. The authors conduced a retrospective chart review study of all the patients (216 in total) between the ages of 3 and 17 who visited the mobile dental unit in this county from 2011-2012.…”

“…It should be mentioned though that Heima et al utilized radiographs, unlike the 1988 study, which could account for this difference. The average number of untreated decayed teeth was 6.8, 88% of the children had untreated decayed teeth, and only 11 children were caries-free (Heima et al, 2017). Despite the high levels of caries, the majority of parents (87.4%), rated their children's oral health as 'good' or 'very good'.…”

“…Additionally, the subjects in both studies were recruited from small Amish communities, providing results which cannot be generalized to the entire Amish population. Therefore, the overall oral health of the Amish population in general is still poorly understood (Heima et al, 2017).…”

“…This was attributed to a diet low in sugar and infrequent in-between meal snacking (Bagramian et al, 1988). Heima et al, 2017, assessed oral health and medical conditions among Amish children in Geauga County, Ohio. In contrast to the 1988 study, the authors found that 27.8% of the Amish children in their study had never visited a dentist before, 88% had untreated dental decay, the average number of untreated decayed teeth was 6.8, and only 20% of the children were caries free (Heima et al, 2017).…”