Oral health in Kenya

Abstract

This paper gives general information on the location of Kenya, its demography, economy, organisation of health services, general health policy, health financing, oral health infrastructure, problems that hamper health financing and proposals on how to solve these problems. Further, a summary of health status of the Kenyan people is given based on the results of studies. The mean DMFT for the rural and urban populations is low and there is no evidence of an increase or decrease. Similarly, the prevalence of periodontitis is low (1-10%), with no increase. Ulcerative lesions are rare (0.12%). The most common birth defects are cleft lip and palate. Oral cancer is very low, accounting for 2% of all malignancies. Comparative studies have not demonstrated any dramatic change in the frequency of oral cancer for the last 25 years. Oral candidiasis is the most prevalent oral lesion amongst HIV/AIDS patients. In June 2003, Kenya formulated a National Oral Health Policy, which gives direction on how to improve the oral health status of the citizens.

Maternal oral health status and preterm low birth weight at Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania: a case-control study

“…Despite, the relatively high occurrence of microbial plaque, dental calculus and gingival bleeding on probing, the prevalence of severe periodontal disease was low and corroborates with other findings in Tanzania, and neighboring country, Kenya [1-3,40,41]. Moreover, majority of the populations in Tanzania and Kenya retained most of their dentition in a functional state even up to the age of 65 years signifying that severe destruction of periodontal tissue is minimal [42,43].…”

Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries

“…In this area, access to oral health facilities and trained oral health manpower is severely limited with no dentists, dental technologists and community oral health officers in rural clinics and dispensaries. This confirms a 2004 report [5] which reviewed the status of oral health services in Kenya and vividly revealed that 80 % of the dentists within the country were observed to be operating in urban centres.…”

“…This study was conducted in a rural hard to reach area in Kenya identified as Il-Polei in Laikipia North, a region inhabited by nomadic pastoral communities, to assess the prevalence of dental caries in subjects attending a medical camp in 2014 organised by the Kenya Methodist University, School of Medicine and Health Sciences in collaboration with the sub-county community health officers through the Ministry of Health Services. This was partially in response to observations made in 2004, that there was scanty data on Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries rural prevalence of dental carries in Kenya as most reported studies were clustered around urban town centres [5]. Moreover, currently available data does not address the issues of whether or not dental problems are declining or increasing in Kenya.…”

Oral health care systems in developing and developed countries

“…In many developing countries, health care financing programs do not give priority to oral health. This results in a lack of national oral health policies and strategies of implementation (4,16). Several of these countries have a shortage of oral health personnel and lack facilities and equipment, materials, supplies and maintenance.…”