Oral health problems and treatment needs in Danish military personnel recruited for United Nations Service

A group of 223 men from the Danish Army designated to serve in the United Nations forces in the former Yugoslavia were examined to determine their oral health status and estimate their needs for dental treatment and the related dental treatment time. The population studied consisted of privates (63%), noncommissioned officers (28%), and officers (9%). About 80% of the population was younger than 28 years. Among the persons older than 27 years, 29% had not consulted a dentist within the past 3 years. Subjective symptoms were recorded in 19% of the study population. The average number of teeth per person was 29.52, and none had removable dentures. Only 5 had a decayed-missing and filled surfaces value of zero. The officers had almost twice as many untreated dental caries as the privates and the noncommissioned officers. The dental fitness of 52% permitted immediate service. Among the remaining 48% (N = 107), 2 needed extensive treatment and 105 needed some cardiological and/or periodontal treatment. The estimated dental treatment time of the population was 185 hours, examination time included.