Global burden of oral diseases: Implications for policy & practice Flashcards
What are oral disease inequalities?
Major inequalities exist within & between countries concerning disease severity & prevalence.
Lower social position -> Worse health risk
What are the most common oral diseases due to inequality?
1) Dental Caries (most common)
2) Periodontal Disease
3) Oral Cancer - risk factors: Smoking, Alcohol & Diet
4) Oral Infection
5) Developmental Abnormalities
What is the economic impacts of dental diseases?
Indirect costs - productivity lost due to untreated caries, severe periodontal disease & severe tooth loss
What is meant by the social determinants of health?
The economic & social conditions under which people live & which determine their health.
Causes of dental inequalities?
- Lack of prevention (developing countries focus on treatment not prevention)
- Reliance on practitioners vs. policies or wider education
- Education
- Financial – Unemployment & Financial support for nutrition & healthcare
- Individual lifestyle factors – Diet, Smoking & Alcohol
- Poverty – Sanitation, Housing & Healthcare
Common risk factors of chronic diseases?
Stress
Unhealthy diet
Tobacco use
Lack of exercise
Lack of control
Poor hygiene/Oral hygiene
Injuries
What is the common risk factor approach?
Other non-communicable diseases have common risk factors with oral conditions
Effect of free sugar consumption on prevalence of caries, diabetes & obesity is of particular concern
Influence, power & effect of global sugar industry is a threat to public health & requires tighter regulation & legislation
Why is oral disease still a major global health problem?
Failure to implement prevention
Failure to understand social determinants of oral diseases
Reliance on activities that dental practitioner can deliver to pts
Advice to adopt healthy behaviours & avoid unhealthy ones
Radical reorientation need to achieve sustainable oral health improvements & reduce OH inequalities
What are the Lancet series recommendations?
Improve epidemiology & oral health surveillance systems
Reform oral healthcare systems
Educate & train future oral health workforce appropriately
Tackle OH inequalities
Focus on upstream interventions to maximise OH improvement
Advance research agendas
Amplify global advocacy
What policies can be implemented to reduce dietary sugars intake?
Higher taxation on sugar-rich foods & SSBs
Ensure transparent food labelling for informed consumer choices
Strongly regulate sugar in baby foods & SSBs
Limit marketing & availability of sugar-rich foods & SSBs to children & adolescents
Provide simplified nutrition guidelines to promote healthy eating & drinking
What corporate strategies do businesses use?
Political & economic & power influence
Lobbying to influence policy
Corporate citizenship
Targeted & tailored marketing & promoting strategies
Influence on research agenda
Influences on social norms & local policies
Media influence to distract attention & cause confusion
Influence on consumers’ choices & behaviours
How do we address the challenge of businesses?
Understand corporate strategies to counter the influence of ‘big sugar’
Build alliances within dentistry & oral health
Build alliances with all health professions
Develop much more effective advocacy
What are the tactics used by the sugar industry?
Spend vast sums on marketing
Engage in aggressive lobbying
Deny sugar is harmful
Undermine credibility of opponents
Find scientists to discredit evidence
What does the sugar industry argue?
Aetiology is complex, so individual products cannot be blamed
Population health measures ‘too simple’ to address complex public health problems
Divert focus of attention away from sugar - fluorides, physical activity
How can awareness to action be achieved?
Shift emphasis of oral healthcare to approach based on public health principles
Develop a strong oral health alliance - based around existing good relationship between WHO, IADR, FDI
Partner with other health professionals, whilst retaining a strong individual identity
Develop strong, effective advocacy based on clear messages - government is influenced by economic arguments
Understand & challenge sugar industry
Recognise that this will require effort & sustained commitment
