Health Topics

WHO Overview

OVERVIEW OF ORAL HEALTH

Oral health is a key indicator of overall health, well-being and quality of life. It encompasses a range of diseases and conditions that include dental caries, Periodontal disease, Tooth loss, Oral cancer, Oral manifestations of HIV infection, Oro-dental trauma, Noma and birth defects such as cleft lip and palate. The Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 estimated that oral diseases affect 3.5 billion people worldwide, with untreated dental caries being among the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the incidence of oral cancer was within the top three of all cancers in some Asian-Pacific countries in 2018. Most oral diseases and conditions share modifiable risk factors with the leading NCDs (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes). These risk factors include tobacco use, alcohol consumption and unhealthy diets high in free sugars, all of which are increasing at the global level. There is a proven relationship between oral and general health. It is reported, for example, that diabetes mellitus is linked with the development and progression of periodontitis. Moreover, there is a causal link between high sugars consumption and diabetes, obesity and dental caries.

WHO Response

Improving oral health has been a longstanding commitment of the WHO Regional Office for Africa. In 1980, it called on Member States to integrate oral health into primary health care. In 1994, it urged them to formulate national oral health policies and plans based on primary health care and to develop training programmes for oral health care workers at all levels. Moreover, a 10-year resolution from 1998-2008 emphasized the importance of integrating oral health into primary health care. Despite efforts and commitments made at country level during the past decade to implement effective interventions, progress in addressing the burden of oral diseases in an equitable and integrated manner remains slower than expected. As of 2011, only 27 countries in the WHO African Region had a national policy on oral health, while only 14 of those countries had a dedicated oral health budget. One of the major barriers to the improvement of oral health in the African Region is the absence of a clear statement of oral health policy to guide countries’ oral health activities. Since 2011, the growing emphasis on tackling NCDs has presented a unique opportunity for the oral health community in the African Region to work towards greater recognition of oral health. To this end, the Regional Oral Health Strategy 2016-2025: addressing oral diseases as part of NCDs (AFR/RC66/5) was endorsed in 2016. The strategy has provided countries with a basis for developing coherent national plans for areas of oral health to align their contribution to the implementation of the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs, 2013-2020 in the African Region. It has four main objectives: to strengthen national advocacy, leadership and partnerships for addressing oral diseases as part of NCDs through a multisectoral approach to reduce common risk factors, promote oral health and ensure access to appropriate fluorides to strengthen health systems for the integrated prevention and control of oral diseases to improve integrated surveillance of oral diseases, monitoring and evaluation of programmes and research. To achieve these objectives, the WHO Regional Office for Africa has assisted Member States by: advocating for increased political commitment at the highest levels; providing guidance, tools and standards to Member States in their efforts to develop and implement national oral health action plans for the prevention and control of oral diseases; supporting the inclusion of basic oral health-care services into the basic health and education systems; mobilizing resources and promoting investment, including public-private partnerships, to support integrated national oral health action plans; contributing to the development, production, and distribution of affordable and good quality oral hygiene products as well as quality dental filling material that is affordable, safe, and environmentally-friendly; supporting operational research to generate evidence for corrective action and continued learning on the relationship between oral diseases and other NCDs and to demonstrate the public health impact, cost-effectiveness and feasibility of interventions (“Best Buys”); and supporting noma priority countries to implement their National Noma Control Programme as part of the Regional Noma Control Programme.