Universal Oral Health Coverage: Investigating the Conditions for Implementation of the Historic WHO Resolution in Greece

Abstract

Oral health is an integral part of overall human health. However, the reduction of public dental funding and chronic weaknesses of the Greek Health System has exacerbated inequalities in access to dental care. In this paper, we aim to uncover the current situation in Greece, regarding the provision of dental care and detect the necessary actions for adopting the historic World Health Organisation (WHO) Resolution on Oral Health (May 2021), which mandates the universal coverage of oral health. Qualitative research was conducted, involving sixteen(16) health system experts, public health officials, as well as representatives of the wider dental community, and patients, who were invited to answer an eleven(11)-item questionnaire, through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The validity of the results was confirmed with the method of triangulation, using multiple data sources. A review of the literature and a search for statistical data in reliable databases were also performed. Low prioritization of oral health, understaffing of National Health System (NHS) dental departments, almost zero public dental funding, wide and deep inequalities, and exclusions of access to dental care were found. A National Oral Health Strategy as well as full integration of Dentistry into the Health System, the adoption of a minimum guaranteed share of public health funding dedicated to oral health, and the creation of an Observatory of Inequalities and Oral Health Policies are considered neces- sary actions for the significant improvement of the oral health status of the Greek population. The WHO Resolution on Oral Health is a call for action toward a modern, universal, effective, efficient, comprehensive, and humancentered health system that gives dental care the place it deserves. Political will, a minimum guaranteed percentage of public health funding dedicated to oral health, and a National Strategy emerge as the pillars of this imperative reform.