Londiwe Buthelezi

The state of oral hygiene in South Africa leaves a lot to be desired. A staggering 80 percent of children in rural areas have never seen a dentist in their lives.

Maker of oral-care products Colgate said nine out of 10 South African kids have cavities. Thousands of young children also experience tooth decay, which leads to illness and absenteeism from school.

Colgate said an FDI’s Oral Health Atlas said 88 percent of schoolchildren in South Africa reported having experienced toothache in their time at school. FDI – which publishes the atlas – is a world dental federation of approximately 200 national dental associations and specialist groups.

The Dental Therapy Association of South Africa said more than 90 percent of adults in South Africa experienced dental cavities, and 93.5 percent had periodontal diseases in 2006. These are the only available figures since the launch of the National Oral Health Strategy in 2005.

Chief executive of the South African Dental Association (Sada) Maretha Smit said compared with countries like Brazil, the level of understanding the importance of oral hygiene and the implications of oral ill health was exceptionally low in South Africa.

She said parents did not know the value of flossing or the correct method of brushing teeth.

“People are not aware that gum diseases can lead to heart disease or fertility problems. If parents are not educated about this, how can they teach their children?”

Smit said the lack of education was due to resourcing problems in the country as there were not enough professionals to teach people.

Sada said the exodus of dentists to other countries and industries was on the rise as the profession was suffering diminishing cash flows due to reduced medical scheme pay-outs.

The association said fewer than 4 200 dentists practised in South Africa, although the Health Professionals Council had over 5 500 registered.

Dentistry faculty dean at the University of Western Cape (UWC) Professor Yusuf Osman said only about 200 dentists qualified in South Africa every year, most of whom worked as specialists.

Only five universities in the country offer dentistry qualifications, and UWC produces half of the graduates.

The Department of Health said the effect of oral ill health on people’s daily lives, and the number of school or work days lost, could not be confirmed due to the lack of accurate data.

But Smit said toothache and gum disease caused much absenteeism at schools and loss of work days among adults, especially in rural communities.

She said while more money was spent to treat people, less was available for preventive care.

“Oral health has been neglected for a long time and it is now coming to haunt us as far as health and finances are concerned.”

The deterioration of the dental and oral health of children in poor communities, prompted black economic empowerment optimisation company Square Carrot to start a mobile dental hygiene clinic.

The clinic operates in the back of a specially converted medium-size truck. Currently, only one clinic operates 17 days a month. But the organisation said it was planning to get a second clinic this year.

Last year the mobile clinic visited 21 schools.

Square Carrot founder Ignis Borstlap said 90 percent of the children they have tended to in rural communities were orphans, while those with parents had no medical aid or money to afford a visit to the dentist.

“They don’t even have their own toothbrushes, never mind brushing correctly or not,” said Borstlap.

Ansie Meyer is the business process analyst and sustainable development projects manager of Caterpillar Southern Africa, which sponsors the mobile clinic. She said they had found many school children had to share toothbrushes with other members of their households.

She said sometimes up to five people in a household used the same toothbrush.

Borstlap said there was a correlation between these children’s dental problems and their physical and mental development. It made it difficult for some to eat or concentrate.

Borstlap said the daily costs of running a mobile dental clinic was R15 000.

Square Carrot began selling the idea to companies that they could sponsor the mobile dental unit as part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Codes of Good Practice contribution requirements for social sustainability, and enterprise and socio-economic development.

“Companies knew they needed to contribute, but they did not spend their money productively. Then the idea struck us, as 80 percent of rural kids have never seen a dentist in their lives,” said Borstlap.

Maker of construction and mining equipment Caterpillar is one of the companies that have sponsored the project since its inception in 2010. Borstlap said close to 100 other companies have also become involved in the project.

Meyer said reports from schools visited by the mobile dental clinics have been scary.

“Many children have never seen a dentist. Some don’t have teeth. They can’t concentrate at school because they are in constant pain.”

The mobile dental clinics screen and identify dental and oral problems. It also does fillings and educates children on how to brush their teeth correctly.

Meyer said of the 3 003 children the mobile clinic screened in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Botswana last year, only 42 percent had healthy teeth.

A shocking 58 percent had decayed teeth. Of all children screened 52 percent needed extractions and 56 percent fillings. “In one school we saw 230 children and 70 percent had decayed teeth.”

Meyer said there was a huge need for basic dental care.

“Although our main focus is attending to school children, we have also screened elderly people in old-age homes.”

When visiting schools, the mobile dental clinic gives each child a dental pack, containing a rinse cup, toothpaste, toothbrush and floss.