Proposal of a Scale of Treatment Needs in dentistry for the Expeditionary Corps of the Polish Armed Forces

Introduction
The involvement of Polish soldiers in establishing peace in the world has resulted in the high regard for the Polish army in the eyes of the allied forces. However, there are cases when people who have been incorrectly classified with regard to oral health reach the theater of operations.

Objectives
The objective of the study is the introduction of the Scale of Treatment Needs (STN).

Material and methods
384 soldiers divided into two groups were included in the study. The first group consisted of soldiers stationed in Afghanistan (196 people) and the second one was stationed in Poland (188 people). A basic dental examination was conducted among the members of both groups.

Results
The STANAG 2466 indicator assigned 84 (42.86%) of the soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and 127 (67.55%) of those serving in Poland to groups 3 and 4. Those soldiers should not have been sent on military missions. The DMFT index (Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth), on the other hand, was 14.96 for the first group and 11.29 for the control group. The resulting treatment indicator for the group on the mission was 0.81 and 0.54 for the one stationed in Poland. The Scale of Treatment Needs proposed by the authors confirms former re-sults.

Conclusions
The Scale of Treatment Needs is a useful diagnostic tool which additionally indicates the treatment direction for each soldier.