Case Report: Severe Dental Abscess Complications in Rural Sierra Leone

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021 Nov 22;106(2):550-555. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.21-0923.

Abstract

Prevalence data on severe dental infections is scarce, particularly for low-income countries. Patients with dental abscess complications who presented from September 2020 until December 2020 in two hospitals in Tonkolili District, Sierra Leone, were included into this case series. We report on a total of 20 patients, median age 28 years, with severe complications of dental abscesses, with a mortality rate of 45%. This case series illustrates the severity of the dire consequences of the absence of access to basic dental and oral healthcare.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Abscess / microbiology*
  • Adult
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mouth Diseases / complications*
  • Mouth Diseases / diagnosis
  • Mouth Diseases / microbiology*
  • Mouth Diseases / mortality
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Rural Population
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Sierra Leone
  • Young Adult