A global perspective on changes in the burden of caries and periodontitis: implications for dentistry*

Abstract

The structure and contents of most oral health care systems and the contents of dental curricula reflect a deep-rooted tradition for attempting to cure oral diseases by refined technological means. However, better oral health conditions for the world's populations necessitate the application of up-to-date scientific knowledge to control the major oral diseases. This review points out that not only should the structure and contents of oral health care delivery systems be based on state-of-the-art knowledge about the biology of the oral diseases; they must also take into account the trends for change in caries and periodontal diseases within and between populations, and acknowledge the impact of changes in treatment philosophies for these trends. The oral disease profiles for populations in low- and high-income countries are briefly described, and it is concluded that the rapidly changing disease profiles observed in high-income countries necessitate re-thinking of the future role and organization of dentistry in such countries. The priorities for low- and middle-income countries must be to avoid repeating the mistakes made in the high-income countries. Instead, these societies might take advantage of setting priorities based on a population-based common risk factor approach. If such an approach is adopted, the training of personnel with oral health care competence must be rethought. The authors suggest three different cadres of dental care providers to be considered for an approach that allows health care planners in different populations around the world to prioritize appropriate oral health care with due respect for the socio-economic conditions prevailing.

Dental volunteering – a time for reflection and a time for change

“…3 This provides motivation for dentists to volunteer in resource-poor communities to provide dental care.…”

Mondzorgvrijwilligerswerk in ontwikkelingslanden 1. Meer dan liefdadigheid.

“…Van alle mondziekten veroorzaakt cariës wereldwijd verreweg de meeste last in termen van per persoon verminderde levenskwaliteit. Dat is te wijten aan de hoge prevalentie van cariës die wereldwijd merendeels onbehandeld blijft (Baelum et al, 2007). Nationale preventieprogramma's en het toelaten van hulpkrachten in de mondzorg zouden wereldwijd een aanmerkelijke verbetering kunnen bewerkstelligen.…”

Prevalence of Oral Diseases in Pediatric Population in Karachi, Pakistan-A Cross-Sectional Survey

“…In industrialized countries, caries incidence was between16-40% among 6 year old children and 4-33% among 12-14 year old age group [9]. Several studies found that developing countries had dental infectious diseases such as dental caries as the leading cause for dental visit in children contrary to the developed countries where it was congenital diseases and oro-dental traumatic injuries [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Dental anomalies found in Kuwaiti children were missing mandibular first molar followed by mandibular second pre-molar and maxillary first molar while in Jordan maxillary hypodontia [106 patients] was prevalent than mandibular hypodontia (46 patients) [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…Several studies found that developing countries had dental infectious diseases such as dental caries as the leading cause for dental visit in children contrary to the developed countries where it was congenital diseases and oro-dental traumatic injuries [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Dental anomalies found in Kuwaiti children were missing mandibular first molar followed by mandibular second pre-molar and maxillary first molar while in Jordan maxillary hypodontia [106 patients] was prevalent than mandibular hypodontia (46 patients) [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Reason for missing teeth was found to be tooth loss due to caries in contrast to congenital absence [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”