The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole,
yesterday, said that only one in five (20 per cent)
Nigerians have access to oral healthcare even as
he said that HIV/AIDS pandemic has contributed
to the high burden of oral disease in the country.
The minister, who expressed concern over
reportedly high prevalence of oral diseases such
as dental caries and periodontal disease, said
the burden has risen to epidemic proportion.
Professor
Adewole, who spoke at the 6th edition of the
National Oral Health Week Celebration in Abuja,
explained that the prevalence of periodontal
diseases is higher than the five per cent
epidemic threshold.
According to him, “periodontal disease affects all
age groups and social strata and there are over
three million HIV-infected persons in Nigeria and
40 percent of them present with oral lesions.
“Traumatic dental injury, with its attendant
negative impact on oral health, due to road
traffic crashes especially motorcycle-related is
becoming an epidemic in most urban and rural
areas in the country.”
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