The increase in dental disease in the northern states of Nigeria and its manpower implications.

An epidemiological survey of dental decay was carried out in the six northern states of Nigeria on a population sample of 1396. The average number of decayed, missing and filled (DMF) teeth per person for the whole sample was 2-7. The percentage of caries-free persons was 47-1. Dental decay was more severe and widespread in the cities, where the mean DMF value was 2-8 and 42 per cent were caries-free, than in the villages, where the mean DMF value was 2-0 and 66-9 per cent were caries-free. The mean DMF index for the age group 10-19 years (which formed nearly 60 per cent of the sample) was 3-1, and untreated dental decay alone almost entirely accounted for this figure. This amount of untreated dental disease is an indication of the lack of dental treatment available as a consequence of the shortage of dental manpower, since only 15 dentists are available for a population of 28 800 000 in this area. Examination of the dietary habits of the population studied showed a remarkable level of consumption of sweets and sweet foods both in villages and cities. Overall, no fewer than 87 per cent of the people admitted to taking these cariogenic foods as snacks between meals. These habits are sufficient to explain the alarmingly increased incidence of dental decay and the decline in the number of caries-free persons when compared with earlier studies. This is an unhappy augury for the future dental health of Nigeria. The evidence of deterioration of dental health makes a national programme of dental health education and preventive dental treatment a matter of urgency. This necessitates a considerable increase in dental manpower if the population is to receive the maximum benefit.