WHO urges countries to include equitable oral health services as part of their national plan and to integrate oral health services into their primary health care models.
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UN warning: Oral diseases affect half of the world’s population
I warned World Health Organization Oral diseases affect nearly half of the world’s population, or 3.5 billion people, mostly in low- and middle-income countries.
The United Nations health agency revealed that the most common oral diseases are tooth decay, acute gum disease, tooth loss and oral cancer, with nearly 2.5 billion people affected by untreated tooth decay.
The organization noted that about 380,000 new cases of oral cancers are diagnosed each year, and blamed the lack of highly specialized dental equipment in primary health care facilities for the high prevalence of oral diseases, especially in poor countries.
For his part, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that oral health has been neglected for long periods at the global health level, stressing at the same time the possibility of preventing many oral diseases.
The organization urged countries to include equitable oral health services as part of their national plan and to integrate oral health services into their primary health care models, as well as to provide affordable fluoride toothpaste, among other measures.