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Overview
Oral health is an important part of general health and may be defined as the 'standard of health of the oral and related tissues which enables an individual to eat, speak and socialise without active disease, discomfort or embarrassment and which contributes to general well-being' (Department of Health, 1994).
Over the last few decades there have been great improvements in oral health in both children and adults. However, inequalities in oral health exist throughout the region and more than thirty per cent of five-year-old children in the region still experience tooth decay. Oral health is linked to socio-economic status with people living in more deprived areas generally having poorer oral health. Action needs to be taken to address inequalities in oral health and to ensure access to high quality oral healthcare services.
The common oral diseases are dental caries (tooth decay), periodontal diseases (gum diseases), tooth surface loss and oral cancers. The main risk factors for oral diseases are high sugar diet, smoking and poor hygiene. These risk factors are common to other chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Working together to tackle these common risks will benefit both general and oral health.
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