Abstract
A program for surveying dental hygienic status of rural populations having no dental service has been undertaken. The present paper concerns with the situation of Yonozumura inhabitants in the Prefecture of Ohita. Judging from its geographical location, distribution of the communities within the district, population scarsity and its poor socio-economic situation, it seemed utterly hopeless for these people to maintain any sort of dental facilities at their own expense, while in fact the dental health status as revealed in the present study pointed to an urgent need for such facility. The authors is of the opinion that some means of finacial aids from either the national, prefectural or village budgets should be taken into consideration to establish and partly maintain such an institution for the benefit of these people. The minor occurrence of tooth decay in the primary and middle school pupils as shown in the present study may be ascribed to their diet habit consisting of sweet potato and rye as staple food and generally rich in vegetable as compared to the dietary regimen of urban people.
