Current status of oral health research in Africa: an overview

Background: Research in oral health contributes effectively to decisions and strategies aimed at improving the oral health of populations. Further contributions to enhance current knowledge of oral health in Africa are required. Objectives: The principal objective of this study was to produce an analysis of oral health research published from different subregions of Africa and to estimate bilateral and multilateral international cooperation in oral health research during the period 20052010. Methods: The PubMed database was searched for published articles on topics related to oral health in Africa. A total of 935 oral health-related articles were retrieved during April and May 2011. Results: Publications emanating from Nigeria and South Africa accounted for a striking 68% of all oral health-related material published from Africa during the study period. Researchers from 30 different countries had participated in collaboration on at least one published article. A total of 262 journals had published at least one item examining oral health in Africa, but only 29 journals had published more than seven articles. These 29 journals accounted for 66% of all published material and induced non-African reviews (26%) and African reviews (40%). Conclusions: This study shows strong variation among countries in the production of articles on oral health whereby rich countries produce greater quantities of published research and poorer nations more frequently develop research partnerships with other countries.