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Dental public health capacity worldwide: Results of a global survey

Journal of Public Health Policy volume 37, pages 528–542 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

The World Federation of Public Health Associations’ Oral Health Working Group (WFPHA OHWG) carried out a survey to establish the extent of global dental public health (DPH) capacity. Senior stakeholders in DPH completed 124 surveys, covering 73 countries and all WHO regions. The survey evaluated DPH workforce within the country, funding, education, current services, and integration between public health and DPH in countries across the world. In 62 per cent of countries, DPH is only partially integrated in the public health system, while in 25 per cent of countries it has not yet been formally integrated. DPH programs at Masters level are available in 44 per cent of countries. Over half of countries have 0 to 10 trained DPH professionals. Because both poor oral and general health share several common risk factors, DPH must be integrated into national health systems and budgets, with an emphasis on having trained DPH specialists available in every country to collaborate in healthcare policy and provision.

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Acknowledgments

We appreciate the efforts of all WFPHA Oral Health Working Group members, especially the regional coordinators, who contributed to the survey design and the setup of the stakeholder list.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. King’s College London, Centre for International Child Oral Health, 26-29 Drury Lane, Rooms 329-331, London, UK

    Valerie Wordley & Raman Bedi

  2. World Federation of Public Health Associations, Geneva, Switzerland

    Marta Lomazzi

Authors
  1. Marta Lomazzi
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  2. Valerie Wordley
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  3. Raman Bedi
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Correspondence to Raman Bedi.

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41271_2016_29_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Supplementary information accompanies this article on the Journal ofPublic Health Policy website (www.palgrave-journals.com/jphp) doi:10.1057/s41271-016-0029-9. Supplementary material 1 (PDF 1096 kb)

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Lomazzi, M., Wordley, V. & Bedi, R. Dental public health capacity worldwide: Results of a global survey. J Public Health Pol 37, 528–542 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-016-0029-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-016-0029-9

Keywords

  • dental public health
  • community dentistry
  • prevention
  • population health