A Professor of Restorative Dentistry at the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo State, Adolphous Loto, yesterday, said that oral health diseases affect nearly 3.7 billion people worldwide, a statistic he described as 45 per cent of the world population.

Loto said that about 2.5 billion people have dental caries and untreated dental caries, stating that it is the single most common health condition globally.

The professor disclosed this during the 11th inaugural lecture of UNIMED titled “Restoring Health to Dentally Afflicted Patients: The Role of a Restorative Dentist as a Jack of All Trades and Master of All.’

According to him, a restorative dentist is a professional who stands as a bioengineer at the sacred intersection or convergence or confluence of biology, materials science, technology, and compassion, crafting health and hope out of afflictions.

The dentist added that severe periodontal disease affects about 1 to 1.1 billion people, stressing that complete tooth loss is also widespread, especially among older adults, and 514 million children suffer from dental caries in their primary teeth.

“The restorative dentist wears many caps as a diagnostician, periodontist, endodontist, educator, technologist, craftsman, artist, scientist, humanitarian and healer.

“A large burden falls on low- and middle-income countries, and in the African region, roughly 40-45 per cent of the population suffer from oral diseases. The global economic burden of major oral conditions was estimated to be about $710 billion, combining direct health care and productivity losses,” he stated.

He concluded that the restorative dentist, as a jack of all trades and master of all, is indeed a hope out of all dental afflictions.