Access to oral care is something most of us take for granted. In many developed and undeveloped countries large percentages of citizens go without proper dental care. Major oral issues include dental caries (cavities) and periodontal diseases. Cavities impact anywhere from 60-90% of children and most adults. The figure below shows cavities amongst 12-year olds from around the world using the DMFT (Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth) Index. AFRO is African countries, AMRO is American countries, EMRO is Eastern Mediterranean countries, EURO is European countries, SEARO stands for South Eastern Asian countries and WPRO stands for Western Pacific countries.
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| Dental caries experience (DMFT) of 12-year-old children according to WHO |
The graph shows that African and Western Pacific countries have a smaller DMFT index, than American countries with the highest DMFT index. A higher index can be a result of increased consumption of sugar and a lack of exposure to fluorides.
More serious oral conditions that plagues children around the world include noma (cancrum oris), ANUG (acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis), oral pre-cancer and cancer. Noma is a gangrene of the face typically caused by bacterial infections. It most commonly occurs in young children who are malnourished or suffering from another disease. The figure below shows cases of noma around the world.
Cases of noma involving children ages 3-5 were reported in Africa, Latin America and Asia, 90% of whom died without ever receiving any treatment. Tomorrow I will post about global statistics on oral disease for adults. Stay tuned.
Sources:
WHO Oral Health Programme, Geneva, Switzerland
WHO Global Oral Health Data Bank and WHO Oral Health Country/Area Profile Programme, 2000
Wow! I'm appreciative that you brought this topic up. I feel that dental health and oral conditions aren't the first issue that comes to mind, despite their significant quantity of cases! Similar to like END7, do you know or are involved with any programs that are trying to get the word and solution out?
ReplyDeleteNot at the moment! However these problems have certainly caught my attention and have been a major inspiration for me to pursue some sort of career in dentistry. So many children and adults do not have access to proper dental care and it severely diminishes their quality of life. Dr. Kramer, my mentor, and my family dentist both participate in as many out reach/mission trips as they can to bring free supplies and care to people in need. When I am older I would love to participate in a program like that!
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