{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T02:41:20Z","timestamp":1785724880431,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,14]],"date-time":"2019-05-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1557792000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>To describe the current oral health care needs and the number and category of dental personnel required to provide necessary services in South Africa (SA). This is a review of the current disease burden based on local epidemiological studies and the number of oral health personnel registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). In SA, oral health services are rendered by oral hygienists, dental therapists, dentists, and dental specialists. Dental caries remains one of the most prevalent conditions, and much of them are untreated. The majority of oral care providers are employed in the private sector even though the majority of the population access the public sector which only offers a basic package of oral care. The high prevalence of caries could be prevented and treated by the public sector. The infrastructure at primary health care facilities needs to be improved so that dentists performing community service can be more effectively utilized. At present, SA requires more dental therapists and oral hygienists to be trained at the academic training institutions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph16101668","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,14]],"date-time":"2019-05-14T10:42:33Z","timestamp":1557830553000},"page":"1668","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["Human Resources for Oral Health Care in South Africa: A 2018 Update"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Ahmed","family":"Bhayat","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Pretoria, PO Box 1266, Pretoria 0002, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Usuf","family":"Chikte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, PO Box 241, Cape Town 8000, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"91","article-title":"The changing demographic profile of dentists and dental specialists in South Africa: 2002\u20132015","volume":"68","author":"Bhayat","year":"2018","journal-title":"IDJ"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"318","article-title":"Caries status among children in the West Rand District of Gauteng Province, South Africa","volume":"67","author":"Thekiso","year":"2012","journal-title":"SADJ"},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"314","article-title":"Caries prevalence among HIV-infected children between four and ten years old at a paediatric virology out-patients ward in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa","volume":"67","author":"Joosab","year":"2012","journal-title":"SADJ"},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"(2019, April 19). Regulations Defining the Scope of the Profession of Oral Hygiene 2017. Available online: http:\/\/www.gpwonline.co.za\/Gazettes\/Gazettes\/39453_26-11_Health.pdf."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"(2019, April 19). Regulations Defining the Scope of the Profession of Dental Therapy 2016. Available online: http:\/\/www.gpwonline.co.za\/Gazettes\/Gazettes\/39979_10-5_Health.pdf."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"(2019, April 19). Regulations Defining the Scope of the Profession of Dentists 2009. Available online: http:\/\/www.gpwonline.co.za\/Gazettes\/Gazettes\/31958_43-09_Health.pdf."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"(2019, April 19). Health Professions Council of South Africa. Available online: http:\/\/www.hpcsa.co.za\/Publications\/Statistics. Accessed on November 2018."},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"258","article-title":"The availability of the basic oral health care package in the Western Cape","volume":"72","author":"Smit","year":"2017","journal-title":"SADJ"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"419","DOI":"10.1002\/msj.20260","article-title":"Community health workers in global health: Scale and scalability","volume":"78","author":"Liu","year":"2011","journal-title":"Mt. Sinai J. Med. J. Transl. Pers. Med."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19253","DOI":"10.3402\/gha.v6i0.19253","article-title":"Moving towards universal coverage in South Africa? Lessons from a voluntary government insurance scheme","volume":"6","author":"Govender","year":"2013","journal-title":"Glob. Health Action"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"817","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(09)60951-X","article-title":"The health and health system of South Africa: Historical roots of current public health challenges","volume":"374","author":"Coovadia","year":"2009","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"McIntyre, D., Bloom, J., Doherthy, J., and Brijal, P. (1995). Health Expenditure and Finance in South Africa, Health Systems Trust and World Bank."},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"373","article-title":"Oral health in South Africa","volume":"54","year":"2004","journal-title":"IDJ"},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"396","article-title":"Dental Caries status in six-year-old children at Health Promoting Schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa","volume":"70","author":"Reddy","year":"2015","journal-title":"SADJ"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"226","DOI":"10.1034\/j.1600-0528.2001.290309.x","article-title":"Socioeconomic factors that affect international caries levels","volume":"29","author":"Diehnelt","year":"2001","journal-title":"Community Dent. Oral. Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"334","article-title":"Orthodontic status and treatment need of 12-year-old children in South Africa using the Dental Aesthetic Index","volume":"60","author":"Drummond","year":"2005","journal-title":"SADJ"},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"(2018, October 11). Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) Fact Sheet on the Top Ten Cancers per Population Group. Available online: https:\/\/www.cansa.org.za\/south-african-cancer-statistics."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1944","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa065497","article-title":"Case\u2013control study of human papillomavirus and oropharyngeal cancer","volume":"356","author":"Kreimer","year":"2007","journal-title":"N. Engl. J. Med."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1752-7325.2000.tb03288.x","article-title":"Medicaid costs associated with the hospitalization of young children for restorative dental treatment under general anesthesia","volume":"60","author":"Kanellis","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Public Health Dent."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1601-5037.2006.00159.x","article-title":"Integration of oral health into primary health care: The role of dental hygienists and the WHO stewardship","volume":"4","author":"Monajem","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Dent. Hyg."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"975","DOI":"10.1177\/0022034510369994","article-title":"Disparity between dental needs and dental treatment provided","volume":"89","author":"Naegele","year":"2010","journal-title":"JDR"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/16\/10\/1668\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T12:51:37Z","timestamp":1760187097000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/16\/10\/1668"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,14]]},"references-count":21,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,5]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph16101668"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph16101668","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,14]]}}}