The global challenges in work for Oral Health of All

Abstract

Oral health is fundamental to general health and well being. Poor oral health affects quality of life as a result of pain or discomfort, tooth loss, impaired oral functioning, disfigurement, missing school time, loss of work hours, and death for instance in the case of oral cancer or noma. Despite improvements in oral health in the past few decades in several countries, oral disease remains a global public health problem and widening inequities in oral health exist among different social groupings between and within countries. Improvements are noted in the oral health of children of high income countries in parallel to increased use of oral health service and establishment of programmes for oral disease prevention and health promotion. Moreover, a growing number of adults preserve a functional dentate status and the oral health related quality of life. In contrast, poor oral health and illness escalates among people of low and middle income countries, in particular, many children are afflicted by severe oral problems and pain and discomfort. The social determinants of health are largely universal, affecting a range of oral health outcomes and the exposure to risk factors. 1 In addition to distal socioenvironmental factors, exposure to proximal factors such as unhealthy diet, tobacco use, excessive consumption of alcohol, and poor personal hygiene lead to poor oral health. These factors are common to chronic non-communicable diseases, including oral diseases which represent the most frequent chronic diseases. Globally, the oral diseases and conditions that contribute significantly to the public burden of disease are