A review of the South African national oral health policy

Abstract

INTRODUCTION : Advocacy for oral health promotion, prevention and treatment of oral diseases is founded on a comprehensive oral health policy that is integrated into the South African National Health Policy. The policy is intended to be a roadmap in the pursuit of achieving optimum oral health for the South African population AIM : To review the National Oral Health Policy of SA (NOHPSA) in terms of context, strengths, weaknesses, implementation and monitoring regarding the oral health status of the South African population RESULTS : Promotive and preventive services lack detail on activities to achieve goals. The objectives, although very well defined, cannot be measured and there is no way of knowing whether they have been achieved. It was evident that the policy needs to be reviewed and updated in accordance to recent survey data, population growth and the profile (number and types) of health service providers. The prospect of updating the policy relies on the availability of current epidemiological surveys, which are not available, the most recent survey was conducted in 2002 CONCLUSION : The policy lacks a monitoring and evaluation plan. This is critical not only for the assessment of actualisation of aims and objectives, but for the sustainability of intended interventions.