Ashfaq Ahmed Khawaja Khail, Saima Hamid.
Oral health care systems analysis in Pakistan; The challenges based on the.
Pak J Public Health Jan ;5(3):16-9.

'Oral health' is an integral part of general health but it has been greatly ignored globally particularly in developing world. In Pakistan oral health care services are mostly limited to tertiary care hospitals which are curative in nature with a downstream approach. There is no 'oral health policy guideline' at the national level and the health strategies of the provinces, which were developed after the enactment of 18th amendment, do not address the oral health needs of the population. The private sector mainly caters for the oral health services and those who can afford purchase services through out of pocket spending. There lies a dearth of dental workforce in Pakistan especially in rural areas. There is no proper national, provincial or district level record on quality, utilization and coverage of oral health services, resource management, monitoring and outcome evaluation. The lack of spending on oral health, inability to focus on new low cost technologies, preventive approaches and health promotion are one the main areas to be addressed. There is a great need for developing national oral health policy guidelines based on community needs and available resources. At primary care level, the government may introduce front line oral health workers for provision of preventive and essential oral health services. The WHO guidelines in terms of nancing, work-force and use of low cost technologies such as 'Basic Package of oral care' should be adopted and followed in true spirit for integration of primary oral health care into primary health care for improved outcomes. This paper intends to summarize and highlight the issues and challenges based on the authors' observation and available literature. Key words: Oral Health, WHO Building Blocks, Health care systems analysis, Issues and challenges

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