In the December issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA), an editorial discussed the FDI Dental World Federation’s newly revised definition of oral health:
“Oral health is multifaceted and includes the ability to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, swallow, and convey a range of emotions through facial expressions with confidence and without pain, discomfort, and disease of the craniofacial complex.”
This is certainly a significant change from the previous definition, simply being “the absence of disease.” Authors of the editorial explained that the update to the definition was necessary “to expand on its many facets and convey oral health as a fundamental human right.”
The American Dental Association was one of over 200 national dental organizations to adopt the new definition.
Read more about the new definition on the JADA website here.
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