Exploring community members’ perceptions of oral health in rural South Africa

TL;DR

This study explores how people in rural South Africa perceive oral health, identifying barriers and proposing solutions to improve access and awareness.

Contribution

The study provides novel insights into rural South African communities' perceptions of oral health and highlights actionable policy recommendations.

Findings

Barriers to oral healthcare access were a major theme among participants.

Inadequate oral health advocacy was identified as a key issue in rural communities.

Intrinsic determinants of oral health were found to influence health behaviors and outcomes.

Abstract

Oral health remains a global health challenge. Rural communities are disproportionately affected by oral diseases due to inequitable access to oral health services and the absence of initiatives that promote oral health and quality of life. This study aimed to explore community members’ perceptions of oral health in rural communities in Limpopo province, South Africa.

A convenience sample of 50 participants was recruited to take part in five focus group discussions, each comprising 10 participants from five geographically distinct rural communities. Discussions were conducted using an interview guide, digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, imported into ATLAS.ti, and thematically analyzed using an inductive approach.

Three main themes emerged: (1) barriers to oral healthcare access, (2) inadequate oral health advocacy, and (3) intrinsic determinants of oral health, each with several related sub-themes and categories. Together, these factors were identified as key contributors to limited awareness of oral health and its potential impact, thereby increasing the prevalence of oral diseases in rural communities.

Despite global initiatives to improve oral health, rural communities remain disproportionately affected by various oral health challenges. Improving oral health in these settings requires integrating oral health into PHC policy reform, equitable workforce distribution, implementation of oral health programs, expansion of mobile services, and the involvement of community healthcare workers to enhance access.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12903-025-07490-1.

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