Dental Health In India Is Becoming A Global Leader; Know How
How India Is Becoming A Global Leader In Dental Health (Image Credits: iStock)
By- Dr Indu Bhushan, Director & Former CEO, Ayushman Bharat, Ex IAS Officer and Ex Director General, East Asia Department of ADB.
It will not be an overstatement to say that India is poised to emerge as a global leader in oral health in the 21st Century. The country, after all, is leveraging its expansive network of skilled dental professionals, innovative research in dental sciences, and a gradual yet growing focus on public health initiatives to set a precedent for international dental health diplomacy.
Why Is This Important?
Oral health has become an important part of India’s quest to become a healthier nation. Perhaps, even more importantly, the country is emerging as the most appropriate case study to showcase how integrating it into the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) within the framework of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can lead to benefits across a wider spectrum.
Money Where The Mouth Is: India’s Role In The Global Oral Health Challenge
According to data from the World Health Organization, oral diseases afflict close to 3.5 billion people across the world. In India, almost 9 out of 10 people are estimated to be suffering from some form of oral ailment, mainly gum diseases and cavities. These conditions not only result in pain, discomfort, and social isolation but can also potentially impact systemic health issues and outcomes such as heart disease, maternal and child health, diabetes, and respiratory illnesses.
With one of the largest populations of dentists and dental surgeons in the world and almost 25,000 dental students graduating annually, India is uniquely positioned to address both local and international oral health challenges. Its advancements in teledentistry and mobile dental services offering education and driving behavioural shifts are expanding affordable access to oral care in remote and underserved regions, with viable blueprints for scalable and sustainable public oral health models.
By integrating knowledge, resources, and best practices across borders to address common dental health challenges and promote equitable access to dental care, it is serving as a beacon for both developing and developed nations around the world.
The Greater Good for All: Oral Health and the Socioeconomic Fabric
The benefits of incorporating oral health into UHC extend well beyond individual well-being and have significant human development and economic implications, too. It is well-documented that prioritizing oral health has led to improved educational outcomes, particularly in children, due to reduced absenteeism and distraction due to pain or discomfort. Improvements in oral health standards lead to enhancement in nutrition as well; dental pain or tooth loss can limit food intake and lead to poor dietary choices, affecting overall health and development. Addressing oral health can improve social inclusion and psychological well-being through speech, appearance and self-esteem, contributing to overall human development.
Prioritizing oral health, as a strategic investment, also yields dividends across the economic sector through reduced healthcare costs; preventive oral healthcare can significantly reduce the need for expensive emergency and restorative treatments. It also boosts productivity through the reduction of lost workdays and a healthier workforce, thus leading to high economic output. Through its interlink with other NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, improved oral health can potentially mitigate higher healthcare utilization and relieve some burden on the already strained global healthcare system.
Re-Evaluating And Reimagining The Current Dominant Approach To Oral Health
However, until now, the broader approach to oral healthcare has predominantly been clinically driven, with minimal emphasis on prevention. This approach not only amplifies the healthcare burden but also has a detrimental impact on individuals across their lifespan. A critical shift towards a public health-centric approach, therefore, is imperative, facilitated by well-conceived policies and robust implementation of strategies.
While India has the opportunity and vision to develop and implement a world-class formal national oral health policy, its current national health policy of 2017 only makes mention of oral health in two instances. This is an opportune moment to transform the approach towards oral health and conceive an integrated health policy that will realize its ambitions for quality of life, public health, and social justice.
A policy overhaul to integrate oral health into UHC – encompassing optimized intersectoral policies that prioritize lifelong preventive care across the spectrum of services necessary for a healthy populace – will be essential to achieving this. To begin with, there is a need to redefine what is considered ‘essential health benefits’ to include preventive oral health services. This redefinition would ensure that preventive dental care is a right for all, reducing the socioeconomic disparities in access to these vital services thus ensuring equitable healthcare.
Another key measure would be to make greater investments in preventive oral care and education. Focusing on early intervention and promoting good oral hygiene practices from childhood can reduce the long-term costs associated with treating advanced oral diseases. In this regard, India can adopt best practices from other Asian countries, such as the Philippines, which have mandated preventive oral health intervention in schools to drive better oral health indices and positive learning outcomes. Schools would also need to integrate students’ health promotion activities in their curriculum and learning practices, with the perspective of encouraging better health through better schools.
There is also a need to foster a more robust integration of oral health professionals into primary care. Dentists, dental hygienists, and other oral health practitioners should be part of interdisciplinary teams, working alongside doctors and community health workers to provide a holistic approach to health. Nurses are particularly well-positioned to offer essential primary preventive dental services early on and to sustain their provisions consistently. Studies have demonstrated the most effective approach to achieve this is by incorporating dental care into primary care settings for children, such as clinics where routine health check-ups and vaccinations occur.
Last but not least, leveraging technology and innovation will play a pivotal role in expanding access. In the context of oral healthcare, a public-private partnership can be a boost to bridge gaps in oral healthcare provisioning. The public sector can offer incentives such as subsidies, and tax breaks, or provide infrastructure and regulatory support, while the private sector can bring in expertise, service delivery innovation, efficiency, support training, and capacity-building initiatives for healthcare providers.
The integration of oral health into Universal Health Coverage is more than a strategic health initiative; it is a transformative movement towards a future where comprehensive well-being is the cornerstone of societal progress. By championing this cause, we not only enhance individual quality of life but also fortify the foundations of public health, social justice, and economic resilience. As we commit to this vision, we pave the way for a legacy of enduring health, where every smile reflects the success of our collective endeavour and the promise of a healthier world for all.
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