Building Africa’s Evidence Base for Integrated Oral and General Healthcare
The Oral Health Initiative (OHI) is a transdisciplinary research and mentorship network generating the evidence, tools, and researchers needed to integrate oral health into primary healthcare across Nigeria and Africa.
Where epidemiological, clinical, and health-systems research on oral disease prevalence, risk factor’s Come Together
We produce rigorous epidemiological, clinical, and health-systems research on oral disease prevalence, risk factors, and its links to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and adverse pregnancy outcomes — evidence that barely existed for Nigeria before OHI.
What we have built since 2023. Beyond the core team, OHI has grown into a fellowship and mentorship community spanning four annual cohorts of “OHI Fellows” (2023–2026), and in 2026, a network of nearly 70 early-career mentees working across seven thematic research programmes (detailed below).
The initiative has produced 18 peer-reviewed publications to date, with a further 11 manuscripts submitted and under review, and dozens of PROSPERO-registered systematic reviews and OSF-registered scoping reviews in progress. Work has been recognised in journals including BMC Oral Health, BMC Health Services Research, PLOS ONE, Frontiers in Oral Health, Oral (MDPI), BioMedicines, and BMJ Global Health.
Are You a Prospective Mentee?
OHI has intentionally recruited across disciplines
Mentee Registration
OHI mentees are early-career researchers — dentists and non-dentists alike — who want to lead rigorous, publishable research and become part of a growing African transdisciplinary research network.
