Oral Health - Equity and Social Determinants

Social determinants are seen as mutable social conditions that influence life opportunities, affect access to resources, and shape patterns of behaviour that impact on oral health. Oral diseases such as dental caries, periodontal disease, tooth loss, oral mucosal lesions, oro pharyngeal cancers and oro-dental trauma are major public health problems because of their high prevalence and incidence in all regions of the world. Public health research into the social determinants of oral health inequalities has identified causal pathways linking the biological, psychosocial, behavioral, environmental and political factors to oral health and disease outcomes. However, many dental public health practitioners, policy makers and researchers have been trained in a bio-medical and behavioural paradigm, and fail to understand the philosophy underpinning the social determinants agenda. Building up suitable capacity among the dental public health workforce of personnel trained in a social determinants and population strategy framework is therefore a key priority to create a social environment that supports and maintains good oral health.