Muhammad Omar Niaz, Mustafa Naseem, Sara Nayab Siddiqui, Zohaib Khurshid.
An Outline of the Oral Health Challenges in “Pakistani” Pop-ulation and a Discussion of Approaches to These Challenges.
J Pak Dent Assoc Jan ;22(3):219-26.

Oral health is defined as a standard of the oral and related tissues which enables an individual to eat, speak and socialize without active disease, discomfort or embarrassment and which contributes to general well-being. The traditional biomedical approach towards oral as well as general health is now being considered inappropriate to meet the health challenges of a population. A basic knowledge and application of social determinants of health is necessary at every level of a country’s healthcare system, so that effective preventive and efficient treatment strategies can be adopted by the various stakeholders in the healthcare system in order to meet those challenges. This review article presents a synopsis of the oral health challenges faced by the Pakistani population in the light of the determinants of health and gives a critical appraisal of the current as well as possible future public health approaches to overcome these challenges. It is aimed to contribute towards the existing knowledge about the public health aspects of oral health for medical and dental students, professionals and policy makers.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com