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. 2023 Jul 19;8(1):28.
doi: 10.1186/s41256-023-00313-2.

Oral health of adolescents in West Africa: prioritizing its social determinants

Deborah Oluwaseun Shomuyiwa  1 , Gemma Bridge  2
Affiliations

Oral health of adolescents in West Africa: prioritizing its social determinants

Deborah Oluwaseun Shomuyiwa et al. Glob Health Res Policy. .

Abstract

Oral health is a major public health issue in West Africa, yet it has gotten little attention. Individual and group disparities in health status are influenced by social determinants of health (SDH), which also affect oral health. Adolescence is a significant transition into adulthood, a time when the SDH can contribute to lifelong health status. This article explored the SDH associated with oral health behaviour, perception, and oral health development amongst adolescents in West Africa. This article engaged articles published in peer-reviewed journals relating to adolescents' oral health and West Africa. The authors undertook this desk review to determine the social determinants of adolescents' oral health in West Africa. The literacy levels and oral health awareness of adolescents, family and social circle influences, socioeconomic status, nutritional levels, and cultural and environmental factors have been identified as important social determinants. Adequate policy implementation with the integration of oral health in schools' curriculum, health systems reorientation with the adoption of oral health delivery in primary health care and expansion in oral health research with the assessment of cultural influences on oral health development have been recommended as interventions to reduce oral health inequalities in West Africa.

Keywords: Adolescents; Dental caries; Oral health; Periodontitis; Social determinants of health; West Africa.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The Increasing prevalence of Periodontal disease in West Sub-Saharan Africa. Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network. Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 (GBD 2019). Seattle: Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME); 2020. Available from http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool
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