Prevalence of Complete Edentulism in Adults and Older Nigerian Population.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of complete edentulism varies from country to country and from one region to another region, and making comparisons between national data challenging because of the impact of lifestyle, socio-economic and educational factors. There is no reported national data for Nigeria. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The study was to determine the prevalence of complete edentulism among adult (35-44 years) and older (65-74 years) Nigerians, being part of a national oral health survey of Nigerians conducted in 2014. METHODOLOGY: The study was a cross-sectional survey of oral diseases, specifically dental caries, periodontal diseases, dental trauma, and tooth loss, among adult and older Nigerian populations using a multi-stage stratified sampling technique for all 36 states and the FCT, and clinical examination in field situations using daylight settings, with findings collected using data entry forms (WHO 1997). Ethical approvals were obtained from the FMOH, SMOH and SMLGCA. Data was analysed using SPSS-11 and nominal variables compared using chi-square. A p-value of 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 5,038 adults and 4,658 older Nigerians were examined, of which 4(0.08%) and 84 (1.8%), respectively had complete edentulism. Among the adults, it was reported exclusively in Northern Nigeria; whereas among the older population, 66(2.8%) and 18(0.8%) participants in Northern and Southern Nigeria respectively, were reported to be edentulous (p<0.05). 45 cases (4.7%) of edentulism in older Nigerians were reported from the North West geopolitical zone alone. Edentulism is higher in the older population than the adult population in both Northern and Southern regions (p<0.05). Socio-demographic variation was significant in the North, with a higher prevalence in the rural localities among the older population (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The study showed that there are variations in the prevalence of edentulism in Nigeria, reflecting lower prevalence in comparison with global trends. National prevalence values did not reflect variations along geographical and socio-political divide.