Oral disease must be central in policies to improve global health
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Abstract
Oral diseases affect almost one in two people.Worldwide and negatively affect quality of life, resulting in substantial financial and social burden across all countries, but in the global health policy discourse they remain largely ignored. Oral diseases were not mentioned in the recently released zero draft of the political declaration for the 2025 united nations high level meeting on non-communicable diseases. This omission has deep roots. Dentistry and
medicine evolved as separate professions, creating educational and institutional silos that left oral health seen as specialised but not integral to overall health or health systems.
Description
Keywords
Oral disease, policies, improve, global health, editorial
Citation
Benzian, H., Kavanaugh, D., Naidoo, S. and Mathur, M.R., 2025. Oral disease must be central in policies to improve global health. bmj, 389.