The burden of oral disease: challenges to improving oral health
in the 21st century Poul Erik Petersen Dental caries and
periodontal diseases have historically been considered the most
important part of the global burden of oral diseases. At
present, the distribution and severity of oral diseases vary in
different parts of the world and within the same country or
region. Dental caries is still a major public health problem in
most industrialized countries, affecting 60–90% of
schoolchildren and the vast majority of adults. It is also a
prevalent oral disease in several Asian and Latin American
countries, while it appears to be less common and less severe in
most African countries. It is expected, however, that the
incidence of dental caries will increase in the near future in
many developing countries of Africa, as a result of growing
consumption of sugars and inadequate exposure to fluorides. The
significant role of socio-behavioural and environmental factors
in oral disease and health is demonstrated in a l