Mahmut KOPARAL, Bilal EGE, Aydin KESKİNRÜZGAR, Günay Yapıcı YAVUZ, Zozan ERDOĞMUŞ, Mustafa Nafiz ÜNSAL

Dentist visits of Syrian refugees and the cost of their dental healthcare

Aim: To investigate dental problems of Syrian refugees in southeast Turkey and assess the burden of their dental healthcare coststo government.Material and Methods: A retrospective study included dental records of Syrian refugees who applied to Adıyaman Dental Hospital(ADH), were compared with Adıyaman public by years.Results: In 2012, the most common treatments were tooth extraction and complicated tooth extraction, the total dental care cost ofsuch refugee patients was $3,082.14 and the median cost per refugee was $4.43. The most common treatment provided to both theAdıyaman public and Syrian refugees in 2017 was dental filling. In the same year, total dental care cost of refugees was $603,303.69,the median cost per refugee was $22.20. The total dental care cost of the Adıyaman public was $3,869,524.96, the median dentalcare cost in Adıyaman public was $17.95 for one person in 2017.Conclusions: Dental problems of Syrian refugees and the financial burden of their dental healthcare to the government significantlyincreased.

PDF

___

1. Zhang DD, Brecke P, Lee HF, et al. Global climate change, war, and population decline in recent human history. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2007;104:19214-9.
2. Reese Masterson A, Usta J, Gupta J, et al. Assessment of reproductive health and violence against women among displaced Syrians in Lebanon. BMC Womens Health 2014;14:25.
3. Devi S. Syria’s health crisis: 5 years on. Lancet. 2016;387:1042-3.
4. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Report of Report of registered syrian refugees 28 Sep 2017. Available from: http://data. unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php#
5. AFAD: Suriye GBM Bilgi Notu 2+1. https://www. afad.gov.tr/upload/Node/2374/files access date 18.09.2017
6. Repuplic of Turkey Ministry of Interior Directorate General for Migration Management’s report. http://www.goc.gov.tr/icerik6/gecicikoruma_363_378_4713_icerik access date 14.09.2017
7. Gulacti U, Lok U, Polat H. Emergency department visits of Syrian refugees and the cost of their healthcare. Pathog Glob Health 2017;111:219-24.
8. Van Berlaer G, Bohle Carbonell F, Manantsoa S, et al. A refugee camp in the centre of Europe: clinical characteristics of asylum seekers arriving in Brussels. BMJ Open 2016;6:e013963.
9. Pfortmueller CA, Schwetlick M, Mueller T, et al. Adult Asylum Seekers from the Middle East Including Syriain Central Europe: What Are Their Health Care Problems? PloS One 2016;11:e0148196.
10. Karakuş A, Yengil E, Akkücük S, et al. The reflection of the Syrian civil war on the emergency department and assessment of hospital costs. Ulus Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg 2013;19:429-33.
11. Duramaz A, Bilgili MG, Bayram B, et al. Orthopedic trauma surgery and hospital cost analysis in refugees; the effect of the Syrian civil War. Int Orthop 2017;41:877-84.