1. Global Perspectives of Oral Health Policies and Oral Healthcare Schemes for Older Adult Populations
- Author
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Gerry McKenna, Takahiro Ono, Wensheng Rong, Fernando Neves Hugo, Linda Slack-Smith, Ronald L. Ettinger, Martin Schimmel, Edward C. M. Lo, Chloe Meng Jiang, Duangporn Duangthip, Matana Kettratad-Pruksapong, Chun Hung Chu, Leonardo Marchini, Stella Xinchen Yang, Naseem Shah, and Jian Liu
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Population ageing ,international health ,Specialty ,610 Medicine & health ,Oral Health ,Review ,Oral health ,Political science ,Health care ,medicine ,healthcare policy ,China ,older adults ,business.industry ,aging ,International health ,RK1-715 ,stomatognathic diseases ,Dentistry ,Family medicine ,Workforce ,dental care ,Geriatric dentistry ,business - Abstract
The aim of this study was to present a concise summary of the oral health policies and oral healthcare schemes for older adult populations in a number of selected countries around the world. In this paper, the current and planned national/regional oral health policies and oral healthcare schemes of nine countries (Australia, Brazil, China including Hong Kong, India, Japan, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) are reported. Barriers and challenges in oral health promotion in terms of devising oral health policies, implementing oral health schemes, and educating the future dental workforce are discussed. In response to the aging of population, individual countries have initiated or reformed their healthcare systems and developed innovative approaches to deliver oral health services for older adults. There is a global shortage of dentists trained in geriatric dentistry. In many countries, geriatric dentistry is not formally recognized as a specialty. Education and training in geriatric dentistry is needed to produce responsive and competent dental professionals to serve the increasing number of older adults. It is expected that oral health policies and oral healthcare services will be changing and reforming in the coming decades to tackle the enduring oral health challenges of aging societies worldwide.
- Published
- 2021