Policy

Public health solutions for oral diseases are most effective when they are integrated with those for other chronic diseases and with national public health programmes. The WHO/Europe’s oral health programme aligns its work with the Health 2020 strategy of chronic disease prevention and health promotion. Emphasis is put on developing European policies on oral health promotion and oral disease prevention, including:

• building public health policies aiming for effective control of risks to oral health; particularly regarding the intake of sugars for adults and children, tobacco prevention and prevention of excessive consumption of alcohol;
• stimulating development and implementation of community-based projects for oral health, with a focus on disadvantaged and poor population groups;
• developing health-promoting schools programmes including oral health for all children;
• encouraging national health authorities to implement effective fluoride programmes for the prevention of dental caries;
• advocating for a common risk factor approach to simultaneously prevent oral and other chronic diseases;
• providing technical support to countries in reorienting oral health services towards disease prevention and health promotion, strengthening their oral health systems and integrating oral health into public health;
  • developing strategies for tackling social determinants and inequities in oral health within and between countries;
  • promoting universal primary oral health care and financially fair services; and
  • building surveillance for oral health linked to national noncommunicable diseases (NCD) surveillance systems.