Oral disease in Africa: a challenge to change oral health priorities.

Colonial and other unsustainable oral health strategies exported to Africa have failed to improve oral health in the region. An alternative way of interpreting and responding to the problems of oral health in Africa is presented. It begins with a systematic interpretation of the health information available, using the application of the basic epidemiological principle of defining a specific health problem by describing its prevalence, severity (morbidity, mortality) and age adjusted distribution in the population. African oral disease priorities determined in this way are shown to be fundamentally different from those perceived previously. It is recommended that this new approach be used in customising a viable set of oral health policies and intervention strategies for each individual African community.