Platform for Better Oral Health in Europe welcomes public healthcare stakeholders, oral health professionals and leading policymakers for the launch of a European Oral Health Report Card at a roundtable event held in the European Parliament

In the lead up to World Oral Health Day 2014, the Platform for Better Oral Health in Europe (the Platform) unveiled today a European Oral Health Report Card outlining the degree of effectiveness of oral health disease prevention in EU Member States. The European Oral Health Report Card features indicators aimed at measuring the progress achieved over time, in the 28 Member States.

The European Oral Health Report Card has been developed by the Platform, a joint initiative of the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE), the Council of European Chief Dental Officers (CECDOs), the European Association of Dental Public Health (EADPH), the European Division of the International Dental Health Foundation (EDIDHF), GlaxoSmithKline and the Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program. In 2013, the Platform developed and launched its 2020 Targets (Annex A) in order to highlight three key areas where oral health policy improvement is needed urgently. These are data collection systems, preventive policies and education and awareness.

The publication of the European Report Card also follows the publication of a State of Oral Health Report by the Platform in September 2012, which indicated that despite progress in the prevention of dental caries (tooth decay) in Europe, more work is needed to:

• Promote oral health awareness
• Tackle oral health inequalities
• Address common risk factors 

Announcing the launch of the European Report Card, Professor Kenneth Eaton, Chair of the Platform, said. “The resulting Report Card should be the basis of increased efforts in the Member States and in particular at EU level to improve oral health prevention policies. The reported preliminary findings on the status quo of the oral health indicators defined by the Platform show great variability in quality of data and the methodology applied and reinforce the results published in The State of Oral Health in Europe (2012). Given the great variety in quality of governance of preventive practices or oral disease, the role of oral health professionals and education and awareness, the effectiveness of the current oral healthcare systems in many EU Member States for oral health promotion is questionable.”

MEP Tănăsescu (S&D - Romania), joined by MEP Kadenback (S&D Austria), members of the Platform for Better Oral Health, and a representative panel of public health stakeholders and professional associations at a roundtable to discuss the findings of the survey behind the Report Card.

The Romanian MEP said: “There is significant work to be done in the Member States and in particular at EU level to improve the governance of preventive practices or oral disease, the role oral health professions play, and education and awareness practices. I am very happy and proud to become a supporter of the on-going work of the Platform, together with Ms. Kadenbach, and help towards making better oral health in Europe a reality. Unless we take effective action, the burden of oral diseases in Europe is bound to increase from the current 80 billion euros yearly to 93 billion euros per year by 2020”.

The European Oral Health Report Card will enable each Member State to measure their status next to set indicators while guiding oral health policies and strategies at a government level.

Details on the European Oral Health Report Card can be found here.