Comparison: Oral Health Status of Prisoner/Adult Dental Health Survey

Since April 2003, the Department of Health became responsible for prison healthcare in England. They now have “To provide prisoners with access to the same range and quality of services as the general public receives from the National Health Service”. The UK Adult Dental Health Survey (ADHS) has excluded institutionalised subjects. Objectives: To assess and compare the oral health status of prisoners with national data. An Oral Health Needs Assessment was carried out in 2000 for Leeds Health Authority. There are three prison populations; HMP Leeds, HMP Wealstun and Young Offenders Institute (YOI) Wetherby. The results from YOI Wetherby will be reported here. Methods: Questions were adapted from the 1998 ADHS and a clinical exam performed by dentists who were calibrated in the 1998 ADHS. YOI Wetherby has male offenders aged between 15 to 18 years of age. A 50% random sample yielded 147 subjects. Results: The percentage with 18 or more sound (untreated) teeth reported in the ADHS was 94% (16-24 years) as opposed to 82% of 16-18 year olds in YOI Wetherby. The mean DMFT was 7.7 nationally (ADHS), compared with 9.9 at YOI Wetherby. Oral neglect is also reflected in the proportion of subjects with at least one unrestorable tooth at YOI Wetherby 20%, whereas only 11% of men of all ages had unrestorable teeth (ADHS). Conclusions: Compared with the ADHS, oral health is poorer in the Young Offenders Institute. It is concluded that there is a substantial burden of untreated disease in this prison population when compared nationally. Funded by Leeds Health Authority.