For this community assignment, students had to choose a culture in Missouri and discuss how their culture may impact our ability to provide oral health care.

1. CULTURAL
COMPETENCY:
RUSSIA
Kalvin Smith
State Fair Community College
Community II

2. Russia: Heritage and Facts
■ Languages Spoken: Russian (official language), English, Ukrainian, Dolgang
■ Religion: 50% Christianity, 15% Islam, Judaism,Tengrism
■ Holidays: Russia Day (June 12), Christmas (December 25 AND January 7)
■ Fun Facts:
– Russia is the world’s largest country
– There are 11 times zones in Russia
– Russia has around 100,000 rivers
– Russian money is called “ruble”
Russian Flag

3. Population
■ Population of Missouri: 6.126 million
■ Population of Russians in Missouri (by percentage): 4.1%
■ Population of Russians in Sedalia (by percentage): 15%

4. Family Roles
■ The meaning of the family in Russia is not limited to the husband, wife and children. It stretches to
include grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces
■ Russians tend to marry young, but this trend is changing with new generations
■ The husband is, on average, 4-6 years older than his wife
■ Grandmother looks after children while parents work

5. Nutrition
■ LOTSOF CARBS
– Borscht
– Pirozhkis
– Caviar
– Blini
– Vodka
■ Leads to caries
– High prevalence

6. Communication
■ Make direct eye contact
■ Handshake is okay to welcome patient
■ Before touching your patient, explain what you will be doing and why
■ A Russian patient with little English in their vocabulary may require a translator to
understand what you are saying

7. Health Risks/Common Medical
Conditions
■ Alcoholism
– Rate of alcohol-related deaths is 10x higher than in other countries
– Liver disease (cirrhosis)
■ Diabetes
– Type 2 Diabetes due to diet and lack of exercise
■ Cardiovascular Disease
– Most common cause of death in Russia
■ Cancer
– Russia leads the world in tobacco use, which can lead to several different kinds of cancer

8. Healthcare Practices: Overview
■ Russians may expect more compassion and emotional closeness with their healthcare providers,
meaning they want a professional yet close relationship with those taking care of them
■ Russian patients may be distrustful of healthcare providers and reject health recommendations, such
as taking prescribed medications or following a provider’s instructions (e.g. flossing)
■ Russians may prefer home remedies for certain conditions.
– The “bonki” is a cold and flu remedy where glass cups are pressed on a sick person’s back and
shoulders to ease symptoms.
– The “bonki” often leaves bruises and welts, which may be misinterpreted as signs of physical
abuse

9. Healthcare Practices: Death
■ Families play a major role in supporting their sick relatives.They often help nurse the
sick person, day and night
■ Russians who are religious may believe prayer can help heal the sick
■ RussianOrthodox prefer burial over cremation
– The dead must be buried within 24 hours, unless the death occurs on a Friday after
sundown, on Saturday, or aJewish holiday

10. Russians and Dental Hygiene
■ A dentist in Russia is called zubnoiy vratch (tooth doctor)
– There are 56,000 dentists and 4000+ hygienists in Russia
■ LikeAmericans, Russians value dentistry and understand the need to have their teeth
cleaned. However, they may be slow to follow oral hygiene instructions provided by their
hygienist.
■ Again, dental caries have a high prevalence in the Russian community, which means they
may have missing teeth or lots of restorations
■ A translator may be needed to help explain procedures and OHI.Translator could be a
Russian speaking co-worker or family member of the patient
– https://www.colgateprofessional.com/content/dam/cp-sites/oral-care/professional/en-
us/coha/COHADentalTranslatorRUSSIAN.pdf

11. References
■ Drachev, S. N. (2019).Oral health in Russian young adults. UiTThe ArticUniversity of
Norway. https://munin.uit.no/handle/10037/14876
■ Kalinich,C. (2016). Russia:The Sickness of a Nation. TheYaleGlobal Health Review.
https://yaleglobalhealthreview.com/2016/12/21/russia-the-sickness-of-a-nation/
■ NationalGeographic. (2019). Russia Facts. NatGeoKids.
https://www.natgeokids.com/nz/discover/geography/countries/russia-facts/
■ Patient and Family Education Committee. (2016). Communicating withYour Russian
Patient. Cultural Clues.
https://www.lacrosseconsortium.org/uploads/content_files/files/RussianCulture.pdf