Affordable Health Initiative on the news

Extracts from “The societal and economic impact of periodontitis”

“Inequities in oral health exist between not just within countries. This is because we are in the middle of a transition where low-income countries and people experiencing poverty in high- middle- income countries are consuming a lot more tobacco and unhealthy foods than their counterparts. To tackle population inequities and the burden of oral diseases, which includes periodontitis, policy makers must consider hygiene [and eating] habits, without neglecting the socio-economic and socio-psychological determinants of lifestyle and health.”

Professor Wagner Marcenes, is an Oral Epidemiologist, and the chair of the Affordable Health Initiative.

·      Research shows that preventative interventions are most effective when they combine both universal treatment delivered by healthcare professionals, with targeted prevention programmes delivered in relevant and existing community settings.

·      The prevention efforts from the Affordable Health Initiative do not solely provide dental support. Professor Marcenes and team believe that education has a greater impact than treatment when preventing healthcare concerns; therefore parents, schoolteachers and children all attend health-promotion classes [and activities] based around [personal development, i.e.:] self-esteem, healthy [literacy, i.e.: healthy food, hygiene habits, physical activities] and prevention [actions].

·      Individuals with lower incomes and socioeconomic status have poorer health outcomes in general, which also applies to dental health. People with lower incomes experience increased tooth loss and have a higher prevalence of oral diseases. Interventions to promote greater periodontal health need to recognise the particular social, cultural and environmental contexts in which prevention takes place.

·      Professor Marcenes, Oral Epidemiologist states: “When we talk about prevention, we talk a lot about poverty and inequalities being one of the main barriers, which is true, but this is also something that is out of the hands of individual dentists and doctors, so we also support protective factors such as sealing cavities in children which is a cheap and effective procedure.”

·      The commercial as well as the social determinants of health require equal concern and have particular relevance to dentistry. Commercial determinants of health are the strategies used by the private sector to promote products and choices that are detrimental to health. The WHO has recognised the clashing business interests of powerful economic operators and public health efforts to prevent non-communicable diseases, as one of the biggest challenges facing health promotion. The sugar industry is a prime example of the commercial determinants of health working against oral health. There is a desperate need for developing strategies that counteract the influence of industry on health.

·      Vulnerable communities who are already at risk of poorer health, are targeted by corporate activities from large sugar, alcohol and tobacco companies, and this needs to be managed appropriately with public health campaigns.