Research article summary (published 30 Jan 2007):

From victim blaming to upstream action: tackling the social determinants of oral health inequalities.

Full Abstract

The persistent and universal nature of oral health inequalities presents a significant challenge to oral health policy makers. Inequalities in oral health mirror those in general health. The universal social gradient in both general and oral health highlights the underlying influence of psychosocial, economic, environmental and political determinants. The dominant preventive approach in dentistry, i.e. narrowly focusing on changing the behaviours of high-risk individuals, has failed to effectively reduce oral health inequalities, and may indeed have increased the oral health equity gap. A conceptual shift is needed away from this biomedical/behavioural 'downstream' approach, to one addressing the 'upstream' underlying social determinants of population oral health. Failure to change our preventive approach is a dereliction of ethical and scientific integrity. A range of complementary public health actions may be implemented at local, national and international levels to promote sustainable oral health improvements and reduce inequalities. The aim of this article is to stimulate discussion and debate on the future development of oral health improvement strategies.

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Author information

Author/s: Watt, Richard Geddie (RG);

Affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK. r.watt(-atsign-)ucl.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Review

Journal: Community dentistry and oral epidemiology (Community Dent Oral Epidemiol), published in Denmark. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Feb; vol 35 (issue 1) : pp 1-11

Dates: Created 2007/01/24; Completed 2007/04/03;

PMID: 17244132, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Attitude to Health Dental Health Services Health Behavior Health Care Reform Health Policy Health Promotion

Health Promotion Health Services Accessibility Humans Politics Social Environment Socioeconomic Factors

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