THE WORLD Health Organization (WHO) has put oral health firmly on the global health agenda.
During the 74th session of the World Health Assembly held May 24 to June 1, Sri Lanka and other WHO member states urged the United Nations health body to address “key risk factors for oral diseases.”
The World Health Assembly is the forum through which the WHO is governed by its 194 member states.
The resolution urged the WHO to develop a global strategy and action plan on oral health with targets set for 2030.
It recommended a shift towards a preventive approach that includes promotion of oral health within the family, schools and workplaces.
The resolution also called for the United Nations health body to “enhance the professional capacity of oral health professionals to delivery consistent and quality care, and to include oral health in universal health coverage programs.”
It called on member states “to better help oral healthcare professionals detect and report cases of neglect and abuse, as well as strengthen oral health collaboration in key community settings, such as schools and workplaces.”
On May 27, the resolution was approved, a move hailed by Dr. Habib Benzian of the WHO Collaborating Center for Quality Improvement and Evidence-based Dentistry at New York University College of Dentistry.
It was a “a true tipping point” for oral health, he said.
The FDI World Dental Federation called it a landmark recognition of the global burden of oral diseases and their associations with other health conditions.
The WHO “recognizes that oral health is integral to systemic health around the world,” said Dr. Daniel J. Klemmedson, President of the American Dental Association.
“We look forward to being an active, collaborative stakeholder in striving to achieve the goals set forth by the WHO’s World Health Assembly,” said Dr. Klemmedson, who is both a dentist and a doctor of medicine.
It’s about time. Oral diseases affect almost half of the world’s population and are strongly associated with other non-communicable ailments like diabetes and stroke.
The FDI World Dental Federation, representing over 1 million dentists, and the International Association for Dental Research, representing over 10,000 researchers, hailed the WHO move.
Optimal oral health for all will only be achieved if it is integrated within initiatives for non-communicable diseases and Universal Health Care, the two organizations declared.
They urged WHO member states to address orofacial clefts, provide access to affordable fluoridated toothpaste and community-based fluoridation where relevant as advised by the updated WHO Director General’s report.
Dental research should be promoted to strengthen evidence on prevention, oral health disparities, oral disease associations with other diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, mental and neurological disorders, chronic respiratory diseases and cancers.
Research should look into affordable and accessible alternatives to dental amalgam.
People living with oral diseases, oral health professionals, national dental associations and other civil society organizations in oral health programs must be supported in full.
WHO member states must ensure that the proposed global oral health strategy, action plan and 2030 targets will integrate oral health into national health strategies and budgets.
Essential oral health services should be covered as well by Universal Health Care benefits packages.
The oral health workforce and multidisciplinary care teams must be strengthened. Health surveillance must improve.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the UE College of Dentistry, former Dean of the College of Dentistry, National University, past president and honorary fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy, and honorary fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists. Honorary Life Member of Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515./PN
