WHO launches Global Oral Health Status Report

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched the Global Oral Health Status Report (GOHSR), a milestone report in the broader process of mobilizing political action and resources for oral health.

Attending the launch event were: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, who gave the welcome remarks, along with other speakers including Ministers, Chief Dental Officers, youth, and citizen representatives as well as FDI President, Prof. Ihsane Ben Yahya and IADR President, Prof Brian O’Connell, among others.

Addressing the global healthcare community, FDI President, Prof. Ihsane Ben Yahya called on governments to work closely with members to tackle the oral health challenges specific to their national circumstances.

According to a press release from WHO, the report will serve as a reference for policymakers, provide orientation for a wide range of stakeholders, including the relevant private sector, and guide the advocacy process towards achieving oral health for all.

First-ever country oral health profiles

The GOHSR, provides the first-ever comprehensive picture of the oral disease burden and highlights challenges and opportunities to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) for oral health.

It includes the oral health profiles of countries based on the latest available data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and global WHO surveys.

Further, it emphasizes the global impact of oral disease on public health and well-being and highlights stark inequalities, with a higher disease burden for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged population groups within and across societies.

“Our biggest challenge now is ensuring that all people, wherever they live and whatever their income, have the knowledge and tools needed to look after their teeth and mouths, and access to prevention and care when they need it,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

According to the press release, the estimated number of cases of oral diseases (3.5 billion people, worldwide is about 1 billion more than cases of all five main NCDs (mental disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and cancers) combined.

An estimated 2.5 billion people suffer from untreated dental caries (tooth decay) alone. The occurrence of oral diseases is increasing globally, at a rate that outpaces population growth.

No ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution

During the panel discussion, FDI President, Prof Ben Yahya highlighted that the country profiles demonstrated that there are national and regional differences in the oral health challenges faced so there is no ‘one-size-fits’ all approach that could be adopted. She pointed out that this had been emphasized in FDI’s Vision 2030 report.

She urged governments and policymakers to leverage the current momentum from the global oral health policy agenda to tackle the oral health needs of their populations and encouraged them to work with FDI member associations to address the oral health challenges specific to their national circumstances.

“There cannot be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. But by understanding the country-specific problems and mapping out the priorities, according to what the data and even the gaps show, will help FDI and its members to implement the most impactful strategies,” said Prof Ihsane Ben Yahya, FDI President

About the GOHSR

The GOHSR is part of WHO’s series of data reports and an important milestone in the larger process of mobilizing political action and resources for oral health.

In alignment with the landmark World Health Assembly resolution WHA74.5 on oral health (2021), and the Global strategy on oral health (2022), the GOHSR will serve as a reference for policy-makers and provide orientation for a wide range of stakeholders across different sectors; and guide the advocacy process towards better prioritization of oral health in global, regional and national contexts.

Read the full report: Global Oral Health Status Report (GOHSR).