A public health approach for prevention of periodontal disease

Abstract

Upwards of 1 in 10 adults worldwide may be affected by severe periodontitis, making the disease more prevalent than cardiovascular disease. Despite its global scope, its impact on pain, oral function, and the wellbeing of individuals, and the disproportionate burden of disease and the socioeconomic impact on communities, the perception that periodontal disease is a public health problem remains low. Although there have been substantial improvements in our understanding of the etiology of periodontal disease and how we can prevent and control it, these advances have been primarily focused on individual, patient‐focused approaches. The prevention of periodontal disease depends on improving currently available individual interventions and on determining what public health interventions can be effective and sustainable under real‐life conditions. Currently, public health approaches for periodontal disease prevention and control are lacking. This review traces the historical strategies for prevention of periodontal disease in an epidemiologic transition context, using a modified model developed for cardiovascular disease, and presents a possible public health approach. Improving periodontal disease prevention and control will need to take into consideration the core activities of a public health approach: assessment, policy development, and assurance.

Association of short sleep with risk of periodontal disease: A meta‐analysis and Mendelian randomization study

“…Periodontitis progresses with the accumulation of plaque, dysbiosis of bacterial ecology, formation of periodontal pockets, gum recession, tissue destruction, and loss of alveolar bone, eventually leading to tooth loss (Morelli et al, 2020).There is clear evidence that periodontal disease is associated with inflammatory markers, cardiovascular disease, and digestive system tumours (Carrizales-Sepúlveda et al, 2018;Li et al, 2020;Șurlin et al, 2020). Improving individual modifiable risk factors is a reliable way to prevent periodontal disease, while public health interventions are necessary to be indeed effective and sustainable under real-life conditions (Janakiram & Dye, 2020;Lobbezoo et al, 2020).Short sleep duration has been shown to be a risk factor for a variety of health outcomes (Itani et al, 2017). Meanwhile, short sleep was associated with increased infection risk and could activate inflammatory signalling pathways (Irwin, 2019).…”

Has the Health Insurance Coverage of Scaling Contributed Positively to Periodontal Health in Korea?

“…Preceding studies also point out that insurance coverage for dental scaling has a positive effect on middle-aged and elderly people’s access to dental disease prevention treatment [ 30 ]. Therefore, the state should continue to have an interest in the management of periodontal diseases and consider public health approaches to pursue improved methods of preventing and managing periodontal diseases [ 31 ].…”

The prevention of periodontal disease—An overview

“…Currently, public health approaches for periodontal disease prevention and control are essentially nonexistent. The accompanying review presents a brief history of strategies for preventing periodontal disease from an epidemiologic perspective, and discusses ideas for novel public health approaches to prevent periodontal disease at the population level.…”