Abstract
BackgroundThis paper describes the oral healthcare system and disease situation amongst children in Turkey. Considering the high prevalence and severity of dental caries, a proposal for improvement of oral health in this population group is formulated.DiscussionA virtual absence of palliative, preventive and restorative care characterises juvenile oral healthcare in Turkey. Consequently, carious cavities remain untreated, which may lead to pain, discomfort and functional limitation and, further, may impact negatively upon general health and cognitive development. As a first step to controlling dental caries, a national health programme including promotional, preventive and minimal intervention approaches for managing dental caries is proposed. The pros and cons of community-oriented caries-preventive measures are discussed. Daily tooth brushing with fluoridated toothpaste at home, in mother- and child-care centres, kindergartens, and schools is highlighted.SummaryThe dental profession, government, university officials and other stakeholders need to meet and determine how best the oral health of children in Turkey can be improved. The present proposed plan is considered a starting point.
Highlights
This paper describes the oral healthcare system and disease situation amongst children in Turkey
Owing to its globally high prevalence, dental caries in children has been described as a 'pandemic' disease characterised by a high percentage of untreated carious cavities causing pain, discomfort and functional limitations [2]
The low prevalence of dental caries is predominantly due to children's intensive use of promoted preventive oral health measures, supported by appropriate curative care provided by an umbrella of accessible clinics and affordable health insurance
Summary
Oral healthcare infrastructure Turkey is an upper-middle-income country with a population of about 72 million people, 38% of whom lived in rural areas. In view of the above, the following components of basic oral care for children are suggested: a) Increasing availability of affordable and effective fluoride toothpaste; b) Brushing of teeth with fluoride toothpaste at an early age, with parental help; c) Participation in daily programmes of brushing teeth with fluoride toothpaste, to stimulate the habit of tooth-brushing in a community; d) Restoration or extraction of carious cavities in primary teeth whenever needed; e) Use of the ART approach as the first option for managing carious lesion development preventively and restoratively; f) Adoption by private practitioners, of modern oral care concepts that render treatment in a child-friendly way and encourage children and parents to consult dental professionals; g) Increasing of the oral health budget, by the government, to finance wider coverage of oral healthcare services for children. The prevailing oral health strategies should be abandoned, as they have been shown to be not very beneficial to children
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