Access to oral health care in long-term refugee camps; a forgotten population in desperate need

Dental care services in long-term refugee camps have very limited resources and lack a skilled work force to address the needs and demands for dental care. Although dental diseases and oral pain are highly prevalent among refugees, frequently their oral health care needs go unaddressed. Oral health remains alienated from the general health care provided by Non-Government Organizations (NGO's) or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Although most refugees arriving to these camps or wait stations are screened by the UNHCR, and health care is provided through international and local NGO's like Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and the International Red Cross (IRC), this does not include standard dental care.Dental disease is highly prevalent among refugee populations and common oral health problems include dental caries, periodontal disease, functional malocclusion and maxillofacial trauma. Refugees do not control their own destinies and are confronted with a new hostile environment that in many cases differs in language, background, culture, climate, and food. This psychological and physiological pressure adds a layer of complexity when considering the burden of disease, including oral health. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, a team of American dentists in a joint venture between the American Dental Association (ADA), Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) and the Tanzania Red Cross (TRC), visited and provided training in emergency dental care and oral health promotion in two long-term refugee camps in Tanzania. Programs such as this may be a solution to the access to oral health care issue in such camps.