Aims: Oral diseases, due to their high frequency and huge impact on overall health and quality of life, and which is reflected on the wellbeing, qualify as a public health issue. In Senegal, the poor condition of dental health is often associated with the socioeconomic situation. The aim of this work is to analyze the behavior of the access to dental care of Senegalese.
Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional survey was carried out between 28th April 2016 and 28th May 2016, according to WHO guidelines (Protocol 1997), and adjusted to Senegal’s context.
Results: The results showed that 97.7% of householders skip regular annual visits to the dentist, 37.3% of them use traditional medicine, 32.3% self-medicate themselves and only 25% of households go to the dentist when in pain.
Conclusion: The analysis reveals real social disparities in oral health care access, as well as an inadequate dental policy. Thus, it seems necessary to strengthen, to the majority’s reach and in the context of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in effect in Senegal, the preventive policy and to incorporate a change of behaviors’ awareness campaign, as well.