Tremendous opportunities now exist for experienced specialist oral health NGOs like Dentaid to help middle and low-income country governments and international NGOs to develop and begin to implement new oral health strategies.

 

However, as they have done in the past, oral health NGOs need to continue to develop products and techniques to make these approaches even more appropriate and cost-effective.

 

At the same time, they must also spear-head action in the international arena to try to influence key stakeholders like governments and multi-national pharmaceutical companies to adopt policies and behaviour which will bring benefit to the wider oral health environment in middle and low-income countries. These include issues of taxation, investment and preventing anti-competitive behaviour by global manufacturers.

 

If these three things can be achieved, with time there is no reason why the “pandemic” burden of untreated dental caries cannot be vastly reduced for future generations in middle and low income countries, as has been seen in much of the developed world. In addition, through encouragement of more primary health care based approaches to dental care provision, much greater populations should also have access to safe and effective dental treatment, instead of relying upon “street dentistry” without anaesthetic or cross infection control. However, in order to do this, oral health generally, and oral health NGOs like Dentaid, will need to engage governments and key strategic NGOs as well as attract a serious and prolonged investment by funding agencies around the world.