Periodontal diseases are among the six most prevalent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide, constituting a burden for oral and general health. There is a shortage of epidemiological data on periodontal diseases in Africa. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to present the periodontal status and cotinine levels of a South African population of adults. This study included individuals living in the Belville South area. Bleeding on probing (BOP) and pocket depth were recorded for each tooth, and clinical attachment loss (CAL) was recorded as the highest score per sextant. Cotinine levels were measured in ng/mL. A total of 951 individuals were included. More than one third of all subjects had BOP. Regarding pocket depth, over 50% of the subjects had shallow pockets (4–5 mm), and almost 6% had deep pockets. CAL ≥ 4 mm was present in 40.1% of the subjects. Males presented worse periodontal conditions than females. In total, 52.7% of the participants had serum cotinine levels of ≥15 ng/mL. Cotinine levels had no effect on periodontal variables. Periodontal diseases were highly prevalent, and periodontal conditions were worse in males. Preventive and restorative public health programs are required to improve oral health in this population.

Background: Dental caries (DC) is highly prevalent condition affecting mostly young children. There has been no systematic review done on the prevalence of DC amongst 12-year -olds in Africa. Although some African countries have reported a decrease in DC prevalence, others have shown an increase and it is essential to measure current trends in order to identify strategies and programmes that could assist in reducing DC in Africa. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the prevalence of DC (condition) amongst the permanent dentition of 12-year-old children (population) in Africa (context).Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. Peer reviewed cross-sectional articles from January 2000 until December 2021 was searched and this included the following databases: Pubmed (Medline); SCOPUS; CINAHL (via EBSCOhost); Academic Search Complete (via EBSCOhost); Dentistry and Oral Sciences Sources (via EBSCOhost); and Science Direct. The search was last updated on the 10th January 2022. Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools were used to assess risk of bias. Prevalence figures were stratified by Urban/Rural status, country and time using a random-effects model. All studies performed on children 12-year-olds on the African continent were included. The prevalence of DC and the DMFT scores were the primary and secondary outcome measures, respectively. Only articles consisting of 12-year-old children who reside in Africa were included in this study. The systematic review was registered with Prospero CRD42021293666.Results: 18,080 participants were included in this review. A total of thirty studies were included in the review. The pooled effect size of dental caries severity was 1.09 (CI 0.91–1.27) and the overall prevalence was 36% (CI 29.4–41.7%). Eritrea (78%) had the highest prevalence of DC while Zambia had the lowest (11%); Eritrea also had the highest DMFT score (2.5) with Sudan having the lowest score (0.49). Urban cities had the highest DMFT score (1.32, CI 0.97–1.68), compared to rural cities (1.13, CI 0.86–1.4) and there was an increasing trend in DC prevalence over time from 28% (CI 23–34%) in 2000 to 2005 to 57% (CI 43–72%) in studies conducted after 2015. The risk of bias was very low where majority of the studies scored more than 50% in the JBI critical appraisal tool.Conclusions: There was a wide discrepancy in the DC prevalence and scores across the different countries, settings (rural versus urban) and there was an increase in the prevalence over time. This review was self-funded.

Dental needs of intellectualy disabled children attending six special educational facilities in Cape Town

Objectives: To evaluate the risk factors and risk indicators associated with early childhood caries in South Africa. Design: A systematic review of aetiology was performed. From 1366 papers found, 23 studies met the eligibility criteria and were included. All study designs were included. Healthy children under six who live in South Africa were eligible for the study. The study was registered with PROSPERO, registration number CRD42020216455. Data extraction: Eligible studies were selected, and data extracted independently by two reviewers. Published data on socio-economic status, dietary factors, oral hygiene knowledge and practices, breastfeeding and bottle-feeding practices, oral bacterial flora and other risk indicators were collected. Two authors appraised the studies independently using the Joanna Briggs Critical Appraisal tools. Data analysis: Heterogeneity was assessed using the I² statistics, and due to heterogeneity, extracted data were mostly presented narratively. Results: Meta-analysis was performed using random-effects models and concluded that parents of children who had a tertiary education had a 1.77 [1.22–2.57] odds of experiencing dental caries compared to the children of parents with a secondary education. However, the unclear risk of bias of most included cross-sectional studies precluded definitive conclusions. Conclusions: More high-quality cohort studies need to be performed to evaluate actual risk factors for ECC in a South African setting. Parental/caregiver oral educational knowledge needs promoting before the emergence of their children’s teeth. The social determinants of health need to be incorporated in future studies, and suitable targeted interventions need to be developed and implemented to mitigate early childhood caries in South Africa.

Background: The prevalence of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) in South Africa was last determined in 2002 in a national survey. Since then only few scattered studies were conducted across pocketed communities in the country. There appears to be an increasing trend in dental caries prevalence in South Africa. Since South Africa has one of the highest burden of HIV in the world, less focus was spent on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), it was only when HIV patients developed NCD’s did the government start evaluating NCDs. However, oral health is still not given enough attention within the health sphere. It is the hope of this systematic review to showcase the extent of dental caries amongst the future leaders of our country. Objectives: The systematic review presents the prevalence and severity of early childhood caries between age groups and provinces in South Africa from 1975 to 2014. Design: A systematic review of prevalence was performed. Settings and participants: All studies performed on children under the age of six who lived in South Africa were eligible to be included. Primary and Secondary outcome measures: The prevalence of ECC and the dmft scores were the primary and secondary outcome measures. Results: Twenty-one studies were included in the present review. The overall prevalence was 44.94% (95% confidence interval (C.I.) 39.73–50.15%) and the overall dmft score was 2.422 (95% C.I. 2.148–2.696). Conclusions: The dmft score was the lowest in the Limpopo Province and highest in the Eastern Cape. ECC prevalence increased post-apartheid possibly on account of lifestyle changes due to the exodus from rural to urban and peri-urban areas. Registration The protocol of this systematic review was registered with PROSPERO, CRD42018112161, in November 2018.