Lancet flags impending oral health crisis, describes it as a global public health challenge
· Oral diseases present a major global public health burden, affecting 3.5 billion people worldwide, yet oral health has been largely ignored by the global health community, according to a new Lancet Series on Oral Health
· With a treat-over-prevent model, modern dentistry has failed to combat the global challenge of oral diseases, giving rise to calls for the radical reform of dental care
· The burden of oral diseases is on course to rise as more people are exposed to the underlying risk factors of oral diseases, including sugar, tobacco and alcohol
· Emerging evidence of the food, beverage, and sugar industry’s influence on dental research and professional bodies raises fresh concern
“Recently, the Government of India announced the Ayushman Bharat Yojana or Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which aims at strengthening Primary Health Care and providing financial protection to the most vulnerable section of the society“
Oral health has been isolated from traditional healthcare and health policy for too long, despite the major global public health burden of oral diseases, according to a Lancet Series on Oral Health, published today in The Lancet.
Failure of the global health community to prioritise the global burden of oral health has led to calls from Lancet Series authors for the radical reform of dental care, tightened regulation of the sugar industry, and greater transparency around conflict of interests in dental research.
Oral diseases, including tooth decay, gum disease and oral cancers, affect almost half of the global population, with untreated dental decay the most common health condition worldwide. In India, oral disorders are the most prevalent disease condition, and have remained so for the past 30 years. Prevalence of oral cancer is highest in South Asian countries.
In addition to lower quality of life, oral diseases have a major economic impact on both individuals and the wider health care system. Aggregate direct treatment costs due to dental diseases in South Asia stands at almost $12.84 Billion.
The Lancet Series on Oral Health led by University College London (UCL) researchers brought together 13 academic and clinical experts from 10 countries to better understand.
