The Silent Exclusion
Universal Health Coverage aims to give access to essential health services and highlights Health for all, yet oral health remains largely absent from policy. Despite dental diseases being among the most common and preventive, these are still treated as optional rather than essential care.
The False Divide
Health systems always continue to separate oral health from general health. This overlooks the obvious links between oral diseases and conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and adverse pregnancy outcomes—making this separation both outdated and harmful.
Equity at Risk
Excluding dental care from UHC increases the out-of-pocket expenditure. This disproportionately affects low-income groups, children, and the elderly, directly contradicting the equity goals of WHO.
Prevention Missed
Most oral diseases can be prevented through early, primary-level care. When oral health is excluded from Universal Health Coverage, health systems shift from prevention to pain-driven care, increasing long-term costs and suffering.
Time to Integrate
True universal health coverage cannot exist without oral health. Healthy mouth is not a luxury, it is a public health necessity.
Can healthcare truly be called universal if it ignores oral health?
MBH/PS