Abstract Prior to 1940 the population of Sweden was one of the most homogeneous in Europe, with only 0.5% foreign born. Fifty years later, in 1990, the proportion of immigrants was around 15%. In order to describe and analyze consumption of dental care in different refugee groups in Sweden, data registered by the Department of Immigration and the National Social Insurance Board, on a random sample of 2489 refugees arriving in Sweden 1975–85, were merged. Information on nationality, date of arrival in Sweden, date of granting of permanent resident status and statistics on consumption of dental care were retrieved. During the period studied a total of 50 521 refugees arrived in Sweden. The average interval between arrival in Sweden and the first dental visit was 4.5 yr (95% < 1: 4.2–4.7). The total treatment time during the first course of treatment was 165.5 min (95% < 1: 148.7–182.3). Consumption of dental care did not decrease with an increased number of treatments. Only 38% of the refugees had visited a dentist at all in Sweden. With increasing number of years in Sweden the number of courses of dental treatment increased, but 41% of the refugees who had visited the dentist in Sweden had done so only once. This study shows a low utilization of dental services among refugees in Sweden in general. Refugees with dental visits in Sweden, in particular, had a high dental consumption. Copyright © 1995, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved

national health statistics Refugees Epidemiology oral Dental care

Europe, Eastern refugee Registries demography register health insurance human sex difference Refugees Middle East Time Factors Eastern Europe private practice Dental Health Services Insurance, Health ethnology Residence Characteristics Dental Care Sweden Adolescent male female Article adult migration Sex Factors Utilization Review Emigration and Immigration time