🦷 Why Oral Health Is Public Health
For too long, oral health has been treated as separate from the rest of healthcare — siloed, secondary, and often overlooked in public health discussions. But the reality is simple: oral health is public health.
The health of our mouths is closely linked to our overall wellbeing. Gum disease has connections to heart disease, diabetes, and pregnancy complications. Poor oral health affects nutrition, mental health, employment, and quality of life. And yet, dental care is still one of the most unequal parts of our health system.
Why the Divide Exists
In many systems, dentistry evolved separately from medicine — with different training, funding, and infrastructure. That divide has had real consequences:
Dental care is often excluded from universal coverage
It's treated as a personal responsibility rather than a public concern
People delay care due to cost, fear, or access barriers
For those in marginalised communities, the result is delayed treatment, preventable pain, and avoidable harm.
The Oral Health Gap
Oral health inequalities often mirror wider social inequalities:
Children in lower-income areas are more likely to have tooth decay
Ethnic minority groups face barriers to accessing culturally appropriate dental care
Older adults, disabled people, and migrants often have poor access to preventative services
These aren’t individual failings. They reflect deeper issues: affordability, awareness, structural neglect, and stigma.
Integration Is the Way Forward
To close the gap, we need to reintegrate oral health into public health systems:
Include dental health in comprehensive health coverage discussions
Promote prevention, not just intervention
Make dental services more accessible, affordable, and inclusive
Educate other healthcare professionals about oral-systemic links
We can’t keep treating the mouth as separate from the rest of the body. It’s time to talk teeth when we talk health.
My Perspective as a Dual-Qualified Clinician
As both a qualified doctor and a dentist, I’ve seen how oral health often gets left out of health equity conversations. But it shouldn’t be.
I’ve seen how a neglected dental issue can become a medical emergency — or how shame around oral health can stop someone from seeking help at all. Integrating care isn’t just efficient. It’s humane.
Final Thoughts
Oral health is public health. It deserves attention, investment, and inclusion in the broader equity agenda.
Because if we want people to live well, we have to start with how they eat, speak, and smile.