FDI statement on Item 6 Political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (Oral health, EB148/8)

On behalf of FDI World Dental Federation (FDI), the official representative body of over one million dentists, and supported by the International Association for Dental Research and NCD Alliance. We welcome the Director-General’s report and thank Member States for the resolution on oral health. Achieving better oral health through integration with NCD and UHC agendas is critical to the successful delivery of the SDGs. 

Member States should adopt the proposed resolution to secure the health and well-being of populations. Recognizing that oral health conditions affect over 3.5 billion people worldwide – disproportionately impacting those from low- and middle-income countries and marginalized groups – we ask that Member States emphasize the need to:

• Engage oral health professionals and leverage the expertise and best practices of dental associations when developing national plans.
• Integrate essential oral health services into UHC benefit packages, including community-based fluoridation programmes and secure equitable access to affordable fluoridated toothpaste.
• Reorient health systems to promote prevention not intervention and improve oral health literacy.
• Prioritize research to find a ‘viable material’ to replace dental amalgam that is also affordable and accessible globally, and environmentally sound. 
• Address cleft lip and palate, affecting 1 in 500 births – ensuring that all children receive necessary reconstructive surgery – as an effective strategy to prevent long-term oral health issues. 
• Orient oral health workforces to ensure integrated, people-centred health services.
• Allocate sufficient oral health budgets and improve oral health surveillance, data collection and monitoring.

We support the resolution’s call to develop: a global oral health strategy by 2022, an action plan by 2023, and oral health ‘best buys’. To help in your efforts, we draw Member States’ attention to a new resource that provides comprehensive guidance on devising strategies to improve oral health and reduce inequalities Vision 2030: Delivering Optimal Oral Health for All.