HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2008.149799v1 99/S2/S474    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Cruz, G. D. Articles by Le Geros, R. Z. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Cruz, G. D. Articles by Le Geros, R. Z. Related Collections Dental/Oral Health Screening

Gustavo D. Cruz, DMD, MPH, Yu Chen, PhD, Christian R. Salazar, MPH and Racquel Z. Le Geros, PhD

At the time of the study, Gustavo D. Cruz and Christian R. Salazar were with the Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, New York University College of Dentistry, New York. Yu Chen was with the Departments of Environmental Medicine and Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York. Racquel Z. Le Geros was with the Department of Biomaterials, New York University College of Dentistry, New York.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Gustavo D. Cruz, New York University College of Dentistry, Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, 250 Park Avenue South, Sixth Floor, New York, NY 10003 (e-mail: gustavo.cruz{at}nyu.edu).

Objectives. We examined associations between immigration and acculturation attributes and oral disease among immigrants.

Methods. We conducted a large cross-sectional study of 1318 immigrants in New York City. We performed comprehensive interviews and oral examinations of the participants and used linear regression models to assess differences in oral disease levels among immigrant subgroups. We also constructed proportional odds models to evaluate the association of oral disease level with length of stay in the United States, age at immigration, and language preference.

Results. After we controlled for most known risk factors, country of birth and age at immigration were associated with variations in oral disease prevalence and need for oral health care. Length of stay was inversely associated with need for treatment of dental caries but not with any other indicator of oral disease. Language preference was not associated with any indicator of oral disease.

Conclusions. Immigrants’ country of birth, length of stay in the United States, and age at immigration played important roles in their oral disease prevalence, independently of most known risk factors for oral diseases. Our findings emphasize the need for more studies to elucidate the complex relationships of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and culturally influenced factors that impact immigrants' oral health.