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Oral health data portal

© WHO / Anne Sturm Guerrand

The World Health Assembly approved a Resolution on oral health in 2021, which affirms that oral health should be firmly embedded within the NCD agenda and that oral health-care interventions should be included in universal health coverage programs.  This resolution on oral health requested WHO to translate the Global Strategy on Oral Health A75/10 Add.1 into an action plan for public oral health by 2023, including a framework for tracking progress with clear measurable targets of oral health to be achieved by 2030.

WHO’s Global oral health status report (GOHSR) provides the first-ever comprehensive picture of oral disease burden and highlights challenges and opportunities to accelerate progress towards universal coverage for oral health. This includes introducing oral health profiles of countries based on the latest available data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and global WHO surveys. The GOHSR is part of WHO’s series of data reports and an important milestone in the larger process of mobilizing political action and resources for oral health. Nearly 20 years after the publication of The World Oral Health Report 2003 and in alignment with the Resolution, the GOHSR will serve as a reference for policy-makers and provide orientation for a wide range of stakeholders across different sectors; and guide the advocacy process towards better prioritization of oral health in global, regional and national contexts. The data in this oral health data portal is from country profiles of the GOHSR.

Key figures

Oral disease burden
3.5 billion
people globally are affected by oral diseases in 2019
Oral health inequality
3 out of 4
people affected living in middle-income countries in 2019
High economic burden of oral diseases
> 380 billion
US$ is spent for the main oral diseases in 2019
  • Untreated dental caries affects 2.5 billion people
  • Severe periodontal disease affects 1 billion people
  • Complete tooth loss affects 350 million people
  • Oral cancer affects 380,000 people

    • Oral diseases disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations with people of low socioeconomic status carrying a higher burden of oral diseases throughout the life course

    This represents about 4.8% of global direct health expenditures

    Related indicators

    Oral health prevalence of oral diseases
    Oral health: Lip and oral cavity cancer
    Oral health: Risk factors for oral diseases
    Oral health economic impact
    Oral health: Flouride toothpaste affordability
    Oral health policies, measures and resources
    Oral health workforce
    Oral health availability of procedures for detecting, managing and treating diseases in the primary care facilities
    Oral health interventions as part of health benefit packages
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