Newsletter
GENEVA, Switzerland: In anticipation of World Oral Health Day, which will be celebrated worldwide on 20 March, the FDI World Dental Federation has identified the most serious challenges that developing countries in South America, Africa and Asia face in their pursuit of optimal oral health. Poor access to adequate care, lack of quality dental materials, and insufficient investment in dental care are among the main obstacles in these countries.
According to the FDI, the figures are bleak. The World Health Organization estimates that in Africa the dentist-to-population ratio is approximately 1:150,000 compared with about 1:2,000 in most industrialised countries. In Ethiopia, for example, the lack of access is even more dramatic, with a ratio of only 1:1 million, according to the Oral Health Atlas, a publication by the FDI that was first issued in 2009 and offers a two-part snapshot of the state of oral health in the world.
However, the organisation emphasised that, even in countries with rapidly increasing numbers of dentists, unequal access to care is a major obstacle. The FDI stated that about 20,000 new dental graduates are registered in India each year. However, there are still not enough to meet the population’s needs. A similar situation can be found in Brazil, which has a high proportion of dentists but they reside primarily in urban areas, resulting in a significant gap in access to dental care in remote areas. Furthermore, economic and social inequalities in such countries force many new graduates to seek work abroad or to move to more populated areas in their own country.
In addition, developing countries are disproportionally affected by a number of oral diseases. The FDI estimates that about 140,000 people mainly living in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Asia are affected by noma, a rapidly progressive and deadly infection caused by malnutrition and compromised immune function, which can degrade soft and hard tissue in the face, leaving sufferers, mostly children, severely disfigured.
With regard to oral diseases that could be identified and treated through routine check-ups, the organisation pointed out that patients present to a dentist often too late owing to a lack of access. Therefore, tooth extractions account for up to 90 per cent of dental work in countries such as Tanzania.
