Oral health in numbers: what WHO reports for the world, Africa and Kenya

Tooth decay and gum disease rarely make headlines, yet the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that they affect billions of people. In November 2022 WHO published its first Global Oral Health Status Report, with data profiles for 194 countries. This post sets out the figures that report and its follow-up publications give for the world, for the WHO African Region and for Kenya, and explains what they mean for anyone deciding whether a dental check-up is worth the trip.

The global picture

The headline figures come from the WHO news release that accompanied the 2022 report, and from the WHO oral health fact sheet updated in March 2025.

Two points stand out. First, untreated decay is counted in the billions, which means a large share of people are living with a problem that a dentist can usually treat. Second, the burden falls mainly on low- and middle-income countries, where WHO notes that oral care often has to be paid for out of pocket.

The WHO African Region

In March 2023 the WHO Regional Office for Africa released a regional summary of the same report. Its figures describe 47 countries, including Kenya.

The dentist ratio is the figure most relevant to patients. With about three dentists for every 100,000 people across the region, waiting times and travel distances are long outside the larger cities, and it is worth booking a routine appointment rather than waiting for pain.

Kenya: the 2015 national survey

Kenya's Ministry of Health published the Kenya National Oral Health Survey Report in 2015. It remains the only national survey of its kind, so its figures are now about a decade old and should be read as a baseline rather than a current snapshot.

The survey also recorded that about 47% of children had ever visited a dentist, and that pain or discomfort was the reason for about 70% of those visits. In other words, most dental visits in Kenya happened after a problem had developed rather than before.

What the numbers mean for a check-up

WHO describes most oral diseases as largely preventable and treatable in their early stages. The figures above show why the early stage matters: decay in a 5-year-old's milk teeth, bleeding gums in a teenager and untreated cavities in an adult are all common, and each is simpler to deal with when found at a routine examination than when it becomes an emergency.

A check-up normally includes an examination of the teeth, gums and soft tissues, advice on cleaning, and a discussion of any treatment that is needed. It does not commit you to treatment, and you are entitled to ask for a written estimate before anything is done.

How we checked these figures

We opened each source directly. The global figures are quoted from the WHO news release of 18 November 2022 announcing the Global Oral Health Status Report, and from the WHO oral health fact sheet dated 17 March 2025. The African Region figures are quoted from the WHO Regional Office for Africa news release of 20 March 2023. The Kenyan figures are quoted from the text of the Kenya National Oral Health Survey Report 2015, which we read in full as a PDF. Where WHO gives a precise number we have rounded it and written "about". We did not find a verified Africa-wide figure for untreated decay or gum disease, so none is given here.

If you are looking for a dental check-up, the general dentistry page lists clinics and dentists with their verification level. You can also tell us what you need and we will help you find a suitable clinic; the service is free.