# Oral Health Trends and Challenges in North and West Africa: A Systematic Review of Cross-Sectional Studies

## TL;DR

This review highlights poor oral health in North and West Africa, driven by inequality and reactive care, and calls for prevention-focused, integrated healthcare systems.

## Contribution

The paper systematically reviews cross-sectional studies to reveal structural oral health challenges and proposes policy shifts for equitable care.

## Key findings

- Localized caries prevalence in children reaches 74% in the region.
- Adults show high levels of periodontal issues like calculus and gingival bleeding.
- Low-SES populations rely on traditional remedies or emergency extractions due to access barriers.

## Abstract

What are the implications of the main findings?
There is a critical need to transition from current symptom-driven, extraction-oriented dental care models toward integrated, primary care systems focused on prevention and tooth-preserving interventions.Future public health policies must prioritize the standardization of epidemiological reporting and the inclusion of patient-centered metrics to effectively address structural inequalities and reduce the oral health burden in the region.

There is a critical need to transition from current symptom-driven, extraction-oriented dental care models toward integrated, primary care systems focused on prevention and tooth-preserving interventions.

Future public health policies must prioritize the standardization of epidemiological reporting and the inclusion of patient-centered metrics to effectively address structural inequalities and reduce the oral health burden in the region.

Background/Objectives: Oral diseases represent a major public health challenge in Africa, considering socioeconomic disparities and limited healthcare access. This systematic review aimed to comprehensively analyze the oral health status, conditions, and associated socioeconomic and cultural associated factors in North and West African regions. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for cross-sectional studies. Using the CoCoPop framework, 19 studies were selected and evaluated for risk of bias using the JBI critical appraisal tool. Results: The findings reveal a substantial burden of untreated pathology, with localized caries prevalence reaching 74% in children. Periodontal health is consistently compromised in adults, characterized by high levels of calculus and gingival bleeding. Self-reported data highlight a symptom-driven culture, where lower-socioeconomic-status (SES) households rely on traditional remedies or emergency extractions due to economic and geographic barriers. Conclusions: Oral health in North and West Africa is characterized by profound inequalities. Current systems fail to reach vulnerable populations, emphasizing the urgent need for a structural shift toward integrated, equity-oriented primary care models that prioritize prevention over reactive, extraction-based treatments.