Why Dentistry Needs Public Health and Public Health Needs Dentistry

The Dental Doctor 0
What is Public Health And How Is It Useful.


You might think that dentistry and public health are two separate and unrelated fields. After all, dentistry deals with the teeth, gums, and mouth, while public health deals with the health of populations and communities. But the truth is that dentistry and public health are closely connected and mutually beneficial. In this article, I will show you how dentistry and public health influence each other and why they are both important for your oral and overall health.

    What Is Public Health Dentistry?


    Public health dentistry is a branch of dentistry that focuses on the prevention and control of oral diseases at the population level. It involves applying the principles and methods of public health to improve the oral health status and needs of communities. Public health dentistry can help in dentistry and the overall well-being of a country in many ways, such as:

    • Promoting oral health awareness and education among the public and professionals.
    • Developing policies and programs to improve access to affordable and quality dental care for all.
    • Implementing community-based preventive interventions, such as water fluoridation, school dental sealant programs, oral cancer screening campaigns, etc.
    • Conducting research and surveillance on oral health issues and trends.
    • Advocating for oral health equity and social justice.
    • Collaborating with other sectors and stakeholders to address the social determinants of oral health.

    Public health dentistry can help reduce the burden of oral diseases and improve the quality of life of people. It can also contribute to the overall well-being of a country by enhancing its economic productivity, social cohesion, human capital development, and national security.


    How Dentistry Benefits From Public Health (With an Example)


    How Dentistry Benefits From Public Health.

    Public health is the science and art of preventing disease, promoting health, and improving the quality of life of people and groups. It uses various methods and tools, such as epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy, health education, environmental health, and social determinants of health. One of the ways that public health benefits dentistry is by providing oral epidemiology, which is the study of the oral health status and needs of populations and communities. Oral epidemiology helps dentists to:

    • Monitor the occurrence and severity of oral diseases, such as dental caries (tooth decay), periodontal disease (gum disease), oral cancer, and dental trauma.
    • Identify the factors that influence oral diseases, such as socio-economic status, lifestyle factors, access to care, quality of life, and systemic diseases.
    • Evaluate the effectiveness and impact of preventive and therapeutic interventions for oral diseases, such as water fluoridation, school dental sealant programs, oral cancer screening campaigns, etc.
    • Plan and implement policies and programs to improve oral health care delivery and access for all.

    One example of how public health benefits dentistry is the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. The GBD study is a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the health problems and risks faced by people in different countries and regions. It provides estimates of the mortality, morbidity, disability, and burden of diseases and injuries for various age groups, sexes, and years. 


    The GBD study also includes oral diseases as one of the categories of non-communicable diseases. According to the latest GBD study (2019), oral diseases affected 3.5 billion people worldwide and were the 13th leading cause of years lived with disability (YLDs). 


    Dental caries was the most common oral disease, affecting 2.3 billion people, followed by severe periodontitis (538 million), edentulism (158 million), oral cancer (354 thousand), and cleft lip and palate (119 thousand). The GBD study also showed that oral diseases were associated with other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer.


    The GBD study provides valuable information for dentists and public health professionals to understand the global burden of oral diseases and to plan and implement effective strategies to prevent and treat them. It also highlights the need for more research and data on oral health in different regions and populations.


    How Public Health Benefits From Dentistry


    How Public Health/Public Health Dentistry Benefits From Dentistry.

    Dentistry is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and disorders of the teeth, gums, and mouth. It involves various specialties, such as general dentistry, pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, oral surgery, and oral pathology. 


    One of the ways that public health benefits from dentistry is by providing oral health care, which is essential for maintaining the function, appearance, and comfort of our teeth, gums, and mouth. Oral health care helps public health to:

    • Prevent and manage the complications and comorbidities of oral diseases, such as pain, infection, malnutrition, disability, and mortality.
    • Enhance our nutrition, communication, and self-esteem, which are important for our physical, mental, and social well-being.
    • Improve our economic productivity, social cohesion, human capital development, and national security.

    One example of how public health benefits from dentistry is the National Oral Health Programme (NOHP). The NOHP was launched by the Government of India in 1986 with the aim of providing comprehensive oral health care to rural populations. The NOHP had four components:

    • Training of primary health care workers in basic dental skills.
    • Provision of essential dental equipment and supplies to primary health centers.
    • Organization of school dental health education programs.
    • Establishment of referral centers for advanced dental care.

    The NOHP was implemented in 10 states covering 100 districts with a population of about 100 million. The NOHP achieved significant results in improving the oral health status and awareness of rural communities. Some of the achievements were:

    • Reduction in dental caries prevalence from 79% to 68% among 12-year-old children.
    • Reduction in periodontal disease prevalence from 85% to 77% among adults.
    • Increase in utilization of dental services from 2% to 12% among rural population.
    • Increase in awareness about oral hygiene practices from 20% to 60% among the rural population.

    The NOHP was a successful example of how dentistry can make a difference in improving the oral health and overall well-being of a community. It also demonstrated how dentistry can work in collaboration with other sectors and stakeholders to achieve its goals.


    Conclusion


    Dentistry needs public health because it helps us understand the causes, risk factors, distribution, trends, consequences, prevention, control, and treatment of oral diseases at the population level. Public health also helps us improve the access, quality, and equity of dental care for all. Public health needs dentistry because it helps us maintain the integrity, function, and aesthetics of our teeth, gums, and mouth, which are essential for our nutrition, communication, and self-esteem.


    Dentistry also helps us prevent and manage the complications and comorbidities of oral diseases, such as pain, infection, malnutrition, disability, and mortality.


    Dentistry and public health are interrelated and interdependent fields that share a common goal: to improve the oral and overall health and well-being of people and populations. By working together, dentistry and public health can make a positive impact on our lives and society.

    If you want to learn more about dentistry or public health topics, you can check out some of these links:

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