The dental health of adults in an integrated urban development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Two hundred and forty-three Ethiopian adults (18 years-old and over) were examined for caries, periodontal disease, malocclusions and enamel opacities. These adults were the parents of children cared for by an independent charitable organisation, the Ethiopian Gemini Trust. The prevalence of dental caries was generally low with a mean DMFT for the sample of 2.7 (+/- 0.2) and a mean DMFS of 6.7 (+/- 0.6), although one adult had a DMFS of 62. A high proportion of the adults (83.5 per cent) had calculus, but only 2 per cent had deep pocketing. Twenty-three per cent of the adults had a malocclusion and for 6 per cent of these this was moderate to severe. The most prevalent enamel defects were hypoplasias and diffuse opacities with 22 per cent of adults having one or more index teeth affected. Access to dental services was virtually non-existent as judged by the clinical status of these adults.