By Samira Larbie
Accra, Mar. 19, GNA-Ghana will tomorrow join the rest of the global community to commemorate World Oral Health Day.
World Oral Health Day, observed annually on March 20, creates a vital opportunity to raise awareness and prioritize oral health, an essential component of people’s overall well-being that is often overlooked.
It is on the theme:”A Happy Mouth Is… A Happy Mind”.
Oral diseases, while largely preventable, pose a major health burden for many countries and affect people throughout their lifetime, causing pain, discomfort, disfigurement, and even death.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that oral diseases affect nearly 3.7 billion people.
Untreated dental caries (tooth decay) in permanent teeth is the most common health condition according to the Global Burden of Disease 2021.
Oral diseases share common risk factors – tobacco, alcohol, high sugar intake, and socioeconomic and commercial determinants – with other Non-Communicable Diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, making an integrated approach more effective.
Oral diseases such as dental caries, gum disease, and tooth loss affected 42 per cent of the World Health Organisation African Region’s population in 2021.
The region also has the highest number of noma cases, a rapidly progressing, non-contagious gangrenous disease of the mouth that primarily affects young children.
If left untreated, noma has a high fatality rate, and survivors often suffer from life-long impairments, disfigurement, stigma, and discrimination.
To tackle these challenges, Member States endorsed the Regional Oral Health Strategy 2016–2025, integrating oral disease into NCD prevention and control programmes.
Experts emphasise the need to strengthen health systems through primary healthcare approaches, ensuring that environmental sustainability and climate resilience are central components.
In Ghana, the global observance will be commemorated with various organizations and institutions organising events and activities to promote oral health awareness.
GNA
SOF