Global Actions to Improve Oral Health from a Research Perspective

In the past decades a wealth of information has been generated on the pathogenesis, etiology, and prevention and treatment options for the most prevalent diseases in the oral cavity. With our advanced knowledge risk indicators and risk factors have been identified that enable individuals at risk to be identified and targeted prevention with optimal cost-benefit to be implemented. In spite of that overall oral health has only marginally and selectively improved. Oral health at the global scale is typically negatively correlated with levels of (socio-economic) development of individuals and in countries. The affordability and availability of oral health care (both at the system and product level) vary considerably and generally parallel general health care patterns. While indicators for oral health have shown improvement (eg. in dental caries scores) more detailed analyses in such cases have revealed that the distribution of disease prevalence becomes increasingly skewed. Epidemiological studies of oral diseases should therefore encompass socio-economic and behavior factors, more than has traditionally been done. Although it should be acknowledged that optimal conditions for oral health improvement vary around the globe, the identification of best practices for the improvement of oral health should be identified. Global collaboration in research and in the training of the next generation researchers is necessary to bring research to a higher level, particularly in countries with currently a high prevalence of oral diseases. Oral and general health have much more in common than previously thought; oral health affects, but is also an indicator for general health. Oral health can probably be best implemented within schemes for the improvement of general health, although this assumption should also be researched.