WHO activities in oral epidemiology

Abstract

Standard methods to facilitate the collection of data on a global basis have been developed by WHO. Data collection in accordance with criteria proposed by WHO began in 1969 from existing sources and was subsequently supplemented by new data collected using the standard methods. Associated with these methods developments, a WHO Global Oral Epidemiology program was begun with the objective of facilitating comparison of data and their use in planning, replanning, and evaluating oral health services according to needs and economic possibilities. That program provides an orderly storage and retrieval system and a visual representation of contrasts in prevalence of those oral diseases which are among the most common known to man. In selecting data for inclusion in the WHO oral epidemiology data bank, a liberal policy has been pursued to make maximum use of available material. The system of classification allows for data retrieval at various levels and for specific ages. Data on caries are available for 95 countries and on periodontal diseases for 50 countries.