Implementation Outcomes for Integrating Oral Health into Primary Healthcare in Africa: A Scoping Review

Oral diseases remain among the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases globally and represent a significant public health challenge. In Africa, the burden of oral diseases such as dental caries, periodontal disease, oral cancers, and other oral conditions continues to increase, yet access to oral healthcare services remains limited. Many African countries face shortages of oral health professionals, limited infrastructure, and inadequate financing for oral health services. As a result, a large proportion of the population relies on primary healthcare facilities that often lack oral health services. Integrating oral health into primary healthcare (PHC) has been widely recommended as a sustainable strategy to improve access to preventive and basic oral healthcare services. Integration involves incorporating oral health promotion, disease prevention, early detection, and referral services into existing PHC systems. This approach aligns with global health strategies that emphasize universal health coverage and the strengthening of PHC systems. Implementation science provides a framework for understanding how health interventions are adopted, implemented, and sustained within real-world healthcare systems. Implementation outcomes such as acceptability, feasibility, adoption, fidelity, appropriateness, penetration, cost, and sustainability are critical indicators used to evaluate the success of integrating new interventions into healthcare settings. Despite increasing advocacy for integrating oral health into PHC in Africa, there is limited consolidated evidence describing how such integration has been implemented and what implementation outcomes have been reported across different African contexts. Studies conducted across the continent vary in design, scope, and implementation strategies, making it difficult to obtain a clear understanding of the progress and gaps in integrating oral health services into PHC systems. Understanding the implementation outcomes associated with integrating oral health into PHC in Africa is essential for identifying successful models, informing policy development, strengthening health systems, and guiding future research and program implementation across the continent.