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Dentistry for the underprivileged
Abstract
The purpose of an oral health care system is to influence the population's way of life so that oral health is promoted and maintained, and oral diseases prevented; and to provide adequate treatment to those members of the population affected by oral diseases so that disease is arrested at an early stage and loss of function prevented. Those two functions in the Primary Health Care (PHC) apply, no matter whether the service is in developing or developed countries. Using these functions as a basis, principles have been established to guide the development of oral health services or programmes and provide a framework for rational consideration of the role of governments, reducing inequalities, underdevelopment, partnerships, oral health promotion, preventive strategies, ethics, personnel preparation, rights of health workers and the scientific basis of oral health strategies.
Dental caries and periodontal disease determine the level of oral health status of a person. Unfortunately, both diseases are so common that essentially every adult has one or the other or both. Therefore, these two diseases can be considered as a real public health problem. In general every country has and should have its own system to prevent and cure its nation from disease according to its resources and culture. Dental health personnel should direct all efforts to invent and encourage the use of effective tools to prevent and control these two diseases effectively. The profession has fallen in an endless, exhausting and costly routine of restorative treatment which consumes too much time, resources, effort and money.
All preventive avenues need to be explored, in particular those that can be sustained within the society and culture of the country, for whichever route is taken in organizing oral health care it is clear that even where the state accepts responsibility for funding (and also in some cases providing) oral health services there will only be a commitment of funds if the procedures and programmes are effective and efficiently run. The problem is that any funds available for the health sector are likely to be small and for oral health care infinitesimal. We have to move away from the idea that oral health is something to be delivered. It is not, it is something to be achieved.
Tanzania Dental Journal Vol. 13(1) 2006: 23-29
Dental caries and periodontal disease determine the level of oral health status of a person. Unfortunately, both diseases are so common that essentially every adult has one or the other or both. Therefore, these two diseases can be considered as a real public health problem. In general every country has and should have its own system to prevent and cure its nation from disease according to its resources and culture. Dental health personnel should direct all efforts to invent and encourage the use of effective tools to prevent and control these two diseases effectively. The profession has fallen in an endless, exhausting and costly routine of restorative treatment which consumes too much time, resources, effort and money.
All preventive avenues need to be explored, in particular those that can be sustained within the society and culture of the country, for whichever route is taken in organizing oral health care it is clear that even where the state accepts responsibility for funding (and also in some cases providing) oral health services there will only be a commitment of funds if the procedures and programmes are effective and efficiently run. The problem is that any funds available for the health sector are likely to be small and for oral health care infinitesimal. We have to move away from the idea that oral health is something to be delivered. It is not, it is something to be achieved.
Tanzania Dental Journal Vol. 13(1) 2006: 23-29
