The first thing on a refugee's to-do list on arriving in the United States probably isn't getting the kids to the dentist—especially if they've come from a place where dental care is not commonly available.

What the researchers wanted to know: What condition are refugee children's teeth in, and how do they compare with American children's teeth?

What they did: The researchers analyzed data on 224 refugee children who had their teeth examined at clinics in Massachusetts as part of the Refugee Health Assessment Program. (Under federal law, all newly arrived refugees are entitled to a health exam.) They compared them with information on American children from a national health survey. For analysis, they looked at three major regions of origin: Africa, Eastern Europe, and everywhere else.

What they found: The prevalence of cavities varied considerably depending on race and origin. Overall, white refugee children were 9 times more likely than white American children to have untreated cavities and 5 times more likely than African-American children. African refugee children, on the other hand, were just twice as likely to have untreated cavities as white American children, and no different from African-American children. Many of the children had not had professional dental care before; the lowest percentages were from Africa. Only 13 percent of children from Africa had ever been to the dentist, and only 10 percent had used a toothbrush in their home countries. Interestingly, 40 percent of African refugee children had no obvious dental problems.

What the study means to you: The relatively good dental health of African children, the researchers say, could be because sugar consumption is quite low in Somalia, Liberia, and Sudan, where most of the African refugee children came from. Those children may also have been accustomed to using chewing sticks to keep their teeth clean.

Caveats: This is only one look at children's teeth, soon after they get to the United States. As their diets change, adding more refined sugar, their dental health could get worse.

Find out more: The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry provides FAQs, brochures, and guidelines to help parents keep their kids teeth healthy.

Read the article: Cote, S., et al. "Dental Caries of Refugee Children Compared with US Children." Pediatrics. December 2004, Vol. 114, No. 6, pp. e733–3740.

Abstract online: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org