Oral Health and the Millennium Development Goals

Ten years after the formulation of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) and with only five years left for their achievement, oral health has not yet been systematically linked to the health-related MDGs. In the context of editing the Atlas of Oral Health for the FDI World Dental Federation in Geneva, an in-depth analysis was undertaken in the relationship between each of the eight health-related MDGs and oral health. It could be demonstrated that oral health is closely linked to all health-related MDGs and that oral diseases can significantly impact on achieving the goals. The paper details the nature of the relationships and highlights how oral health promotion and prevention can contribute to better child health, growth and education performance; thus helping to achieve the MDGs. Although dental decay is the most frequent chronic childhood disease globally, it is often neglected by health planners and decision makers, since it usually impacts on morbidity and not mortality. Linking good oral health to the achievement of the MDGs as an internationally agreed health target opens argumentation avenues for more attention to oral health promotion, prevention and access to oral care. It also helps to place oral health back into the mainstream of the international health discourse. However, the analysis also revealed some areas where the link between oral health, general health and development status is not yet fully understood and the paper makes recommendations for future research in these areas.