What’s so important about Oral Health?
Good oral health care, such as daily brushing and flossing, help keep bacteria from building up on our teeth and gums.
Without proper oral hygiene, bacteria can reach levels that might lead to oral infections, such as tooth decay and gum disease.
Other chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease can also be attributed to poor oral health.
So, it’s pretty important for overall health!
In 2017, a National Oral Health Survey (NOHS)1 was undertaken in Vanuatu which clearly demonstrated a need to improve oral health of Ni-Vanuatu. Consequently, a 20-week trial supervised tooth brushing project (Gudfala Tut Skul Projek) was introduced with the following objectives:
- To raise greater awareness of oral health in school children
- To determine if a supervised tooth brushing program would lead to improvement in oral hygiene habits
- To ascertain if delivery of the program could be easily managed in a school setting in Vanuatu
- To develop and test acceptance of newly developed fluoride toothpaste suitable forproduction in Vanuatu
- To determine if the children participating in the program might influence the oral hygiene habits of their respective family members i.e., “Gudfala Tut Famli” (Healthy Tooth Family)
The diagram below highlights the number of people globally suffering from oral diseases, compared with other Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). The larger the coloured circle, the greater is the global impact of the NCD.
Just recently, the WHO released a report titled “Global oral health status report”, detailing the extent and impact of oral diseases and strategies to address the problem. According to the WHO, the key facts are as follows …
- Oral diseases, while largely preventable, pose a major health burden for many countries and affect people
- throughout their lifetime, causing pain, discomfort, disfigurement and even death.
- Untreated dental caries (tooth decay) in permanent teeth is the most common health condition according to the Global Burden of Disease 2019.
- It is estimated that oral diseases affect nearly 3.5 billion people.
- Treatment for oral health conditions is expensive and usually not part of universal health coverage (UHC).
- Most low, and middle-income countries do not have sufficient services available to prevent and treat oral health condition.
- Oral diseases are caused by a range of modifiable risk factors common to many noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including sugar consumption, tobacco use, alcohol use and poor hygiene, and their underlying social and commercial determinants.
For further information, click on a link below to read more.
Global oral health status report
2017 World Oral Health Database – Vanuatu
Vanuatu National Oral Health Survey 2017 (NOHS)
Vanuatu National Oral Health Survey 2017 – Fact Sheet
Vanuatu National Oral Health Policy 2019 – 2023
Vanuatu Sustainable Development Plan – The People’s Plan
WHO Oral Health Resolution – 74th World Health Assembly May 2021