GENEVA — Rotting teeth, swollen gums, and
oral cancers: nearly half the world’s population suffer from mouth diseases,
the
World Health Organization (WHO) said last Thursday.
اضافة اعلان
A new report highlighted glaring inequities in
access to oral health services, saying it badly affected the most vulnerable
and disadvantaged populations.
“Oral health has long been neglected in global
health,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, insisting that “many oral
diseases can be prevented and treated with the cost-effective measures.”
The UN health agency found that 45 percent of the
global population, or around 3.5 billion people, are battling tooth decay, gum
disease, and other oral illnesses.
The report, the first comprehensive picture of the
situation across 194 countries, found that global cases have increased by one
billion over the past 30 years.
The WHO said that was “a clear indication that many
people do not have access to prevention and treatment of oral diseases”.
The most common
diseases are dental caries or tooth
decay, severe gum disease, tooth loss, and oral cancers.
Untreated dental caries is the single most common
condition, affecting some 2.5 billion people around the world. Severe gum
disease, which is a major cause of total tooth loss, is estimated to affect
around one billion people. And approximately 380,000 new cases of oral cancers
are diagnosed every year, WHO said.
Glaring inequities
Three-quarters of those
suffering from oral diseases live in low- and middle-income countries, the
report found.
And in all countries, people on low incomes, the
disabled, older people living alone or in care homes, those living in remote
and rural communities, or minority groups carry a higher burden of oral
diseases, it said.
These patterns are the same found for other
noncommunicable diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and
diabetes, WHO said. The risk factors are also similar, with high sugar intake,
tobacco use, and alcohol abuse taking their toll.
The report highlighted barriers to delivering
adequate oral health services, including dentist visits, which often require
high out-of-pocket expenses. This can lead to “catastrophic costs and
significant financial burden for families and communities”, WHO said.
At the same time, reliance on highly specialized
providers and high-tech equipment make these services inaccessible to many.
Inadequate information and surveillance also mean
that many people go far too long before seeking or receiving treatment.
WHO presented a long list of proposals to address
the problem, including calling for countries to include oral health services in
their primary health care systems.
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