Immigration as a Social Determinant of Oral Health: Does the 'Healthy Immigrant Effect' Extend to Self-rated Oral Health in Ontario, Canada?

Immigrants' oral health is rarely explored in Canada, despite its impact on physical, social, and economic well-being. Drawing on data from the 2014 Canadian Community Health Survey, we address this void by comparing self-rated oral health among recent immigrants, established immigrants, and the native-born in Ontario, Canada. The analysis includes three sets of control variables capturing the resettlement stress perspective, convergence perspective, and selective immigration. We find that oral health does not significantly differ between recent immigrants and the native-born at the bivariate level, although the odds of reporting poor oral health become significantly lower for recent immigrants, once the resettlement characteristics are accounted for. This difference is completely attenuated by selective immigration characteristics. Established immigrants are more likely to report poor oral health than the native-born, even after accounting for all control variables. Based on these findings, we conclude by offering recommendations for policymakers.