Skip to Content

Oral Health Status of Refugee Torture Survivors Seeking Care in the United States

Original Publication Date: January 27, 2015
Last Updated: March 16, 2023
Estimated Read Time: < 1 minute

Singh HK, Scott TE, Henshaw MM, Cote SE, Grodin MA, Piwowarczyk LA. Oral Health Status of Refugee Torture Survivors Seeking Care in the United States. American Journal of Public Health 2008;98(12):2181-2182. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.120063.

This study assessed the oral health status of 216 refugee torture survivors seeking care at an urban torture treatment center in the United States. Results showed that patients’ dental health ranged from poor to fair; 76% had untreated cavities, and approximately 90% required immediate or near-immediate dental care. Torture treatment centers, in addition to offering safe environments for educating and examining patients, are ideal settings to provide basic oral health services without the risk of retraumatization.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2636519/

Additional Resources