Namibia National Oral Health Survey: Periodontal Disease and Treatment Need

Background: Namibia is the country with 14 regions and a population of about 2 million. The population distribution is skewed with the northern part more densely populated and this poses different challenges in different regions. The first national oral health survey was conducted in January 2010 with the aim of contributing to oral health knowledge. Aim: To establish a baseline for future monitoring and evaluation, contribute to the revision of the oral health policy and planning of interventions. Objectives: To determine the periodontal status and treatment needs of adults and children.  Methods: Cluster, random, stratified samples were drawn from children in age groups: 12-years and 15-years and adults aged between 34-45 and 65-74 years. The survey was conducted WHO oral health survey questionnaire for periodontal status and treatment needs. The survey was carried out by trained, calibrated dentists. Results: There was large variation in the prevalence and severity of periodontal diseases for the different regions.  Although 35.2% of the 12-year-old and 38.7% 15-year olds presented with healthy periodontal tissues, the gingivitis-calculus complex was the most common periodontal condition nationally.  In the 24-45 year age group 53.7% had calculus and 14.7% bleeding. Conclusion: The observation of endemic gingivitis and calculus accumulation with a low prevalence of advanced periodontal diseases has significant implications for oral health services. Periodontal care programmes will need to focus on the slowly progressing chronic inflammatory disease, and include scaling, polishing and oral hygiene instruction. Without negating the ultimate need and long-term goal for calculus removal, it may be a practical necessity to direct the focus of care to promoting self-care and this should take priority over scaling. This approach will not only manage the present situation efficiently, but will lead to lower calculus and less periodontal disease in future generations of Namibians.