90% of tooth decay in Nigeria is untreated

He said Nigeria is doing much worse than the global average of untreated caries.He stated this in Lagos at the Pepsodent Oral Health Scientific Conference, organized by Unilever Nigeria held in Lagos.“The prevalence of dental caries in Nigeria as compared to other countries could be said to be low. it’s between 13.9 percent to 28 […]

He said Nigeria is doing much worse than the global average of untreated caries.
He stated this in Lagos at the Pepsodent Oral Health Scientific Conference, organized by Unilever Nigeria held in Lagos.
“The prevalence of dental caries in Nigeria as compared to other countries could be said to be low. it’s between 13.9 percent to 28 percent, but the last national oral health count we had in Nigeria was done 20 years ago, so there is a need to update data on our dental profile,” he said.
However, “the concern for us is that the majority of the caries are untreated. While we have low caries prevalence in Nigeria as compared to other countries, most are untreated resulting in ultimately pain and tooth loss. We have a prevalence of about 90 percent untreated caries,” Dr Sofola added.
The figures aren’t different with children. “More importantly is the early childhood caries. We tend to see caries in children. We have a prevalence of 6.5 to 22.5 percent. Over 95.6 per cent of early childhood caries is untreated. On the global average, we have a global prevalence of 35 percent of untreated caries. Nigeria is doing much worse than the global average of untreated caries,” said Dr Sofola.
On the other hand he said “periodontal disease (gum diseases) has been found to be between 79 to 90 per cent of the Nigerian population. What we are saying is that all the studies that have been done between 1960s and date reveals that we have a lot of periodontal disease in Nigeria. If we have a lot of periodontal disease in Nigeria and this is being linked to systemic disease, then we have a lot of work to do because this might lead to increasing morbidity in the nation.”
Commenting, George Umoh, Brand Manager, Pepsodent, Unilever Nigeria, said the Pepsodent scientific conference is in an attempt to address specific needs and solve everyday problem of consumers and in a bit to address the needs within the oral care sector.
 “We are also collaborating with all stakeholders. As a foremost manufacturer who is often in the business of addressing health issues and the needs of consumers, we have several programmes we have put in place to address the needs of consumers and this forum is one of them. Unilever Nigeria has been a foremost partner with the Nigerian Dental Association and we have other programmes in the year to deliver superior oral care to consumers and ensuring a cavity free Nigeria,” he said.