Thread by @WHO

Today is World #OralHealth Day.
Oral diseases affect nearly 3.5 billion people. They cause:
🔴 pain
🔴 discomfort
🔴 disfigurement
🔴 and even death
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Treatment for #oralhealth conditions is expensive and usually not part of Universal Health Coverage. In most high-income countries, dental treatment averages 5% of total health expenditure and 20% of out-of-pocket health expenditure.
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Most low- and middle-income countries are unable to provide services to prevent and treat #oralhealth conditions.
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Factors contributing to oral diseases are:
🔻 unhealthy diet high in sugar
🔻 use of tobacco
🔻 harmful use of alcohol
🔻 inadequate exposure to fluoride
Most oral health conditions are largely preventable and can be treated in their early stages.
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Around 20% of people suffer from trauma to teeth at some point in their life. Oro-dental trauma can be caused by oral factors such as lack of alignment of teeth and environmental factors such as unsafe playgrounds, risk-taking behaviour & violence.
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Most oral diseases and conditions share modifiable risk factors common to the four leading noncommunicable diseases:
🔷 cardiovascular disease
🔷 cancer
🔷 chronic respiratory disease
🔷 diabetes
#OralHealth
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Oral diseases disproportionally affect the poor and socially-disadvantaged members of society. There is a very strong and consistent association between socioeconomic status (income, occupation and educational level) and the prevalence and severity of oral diseases.
#OralHealth

The burden of oral diseases can be ⬇️ through public health interventions by:
✔️promoting a well-balanced diet
✔️stopping use of all forms of tobacco
✔️reducing alcohol consumption
✔️encouraging use of protective equipment when doing sports & travelling on bicycles & motorcycles

More than 530 million children suffer from dental caries of primary teeth (milk teeth). New WHO manual “Ending childhood dental caries” outlines risk factors for childhood dental caries and approaches to prevention and treatment ➡️ bit.ly/33F4eDF

How to protect your baby from early childhood caries?
🔷 Breastfeed for up to 6 months.
🔷 Introduce nutritional solid foods at 6 months to complement breastfeeding.
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To prevent tooth decay:
🔷 Use toothpaste which contains fluoride and brush your teeth at least twice a day.
🔷 Make this part of your daily routine, even during #COVID19.
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To prevent tooth decay: eat a healthy balanced diet, avoiding sugars.
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#OralHealth

Parents 👱‍♂️👩
teachers 👨‍🏫👩‍🏫
health care workers 👨‍⚕️👩‍⚕️
can help prevent tooth decay among children by encouraging them to practice good oral hygiene.
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Regulation of marketing of foods and drinks that are high in sugars can help prevent tooth decay in young 🧒👧.
#OralHealth
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