HEALTH INEQUALITIES

Oral Health Inequalities among Different Regions in South Africa

[Writer's Institution]

Oral Health Inequalities among Different Regions in South Africa

Introduction

Health care inequality is a prevalent and immense problem in societies all around the world. Even in developed countries that spend the most money on health care on a yearly basis, like the United States, have a growing problem with inequality due to the growing socioeconomic divide (West, 1998). There is a growing body of evidence that this inequality will continue to grow over the next several years due to this socioeconomic divide. There has been a growing concern about health inequalities over the past several years as evidence is collected regarding the primary reason for its occurrence to be the socioeconomic divide. It has been noted that even with technological advances in oral care, there continues to be major health concern regarding oral diseases in South Africa (Singh, Myburgh, & Lalloo, 2010).

Discussion

Oral Disease Prevalence and Affects in South Africa

While majority of oral diseases are not life threatening, they affect almost every individual at least once in their life. These oral diseases most commonly result in pain and discomfort, costly treatments, absence from school, work, and to an extent a social stigma. While these diseases may not be life threatening, they are important concerns because of their high prevalence in all societies, their severity, and the public's need for treatment (South African National Oral Health Strategy, 2005).

Oral disease is on the rise in many parts of South Africa, especially in the disadvantaged and urbanised communities. While it is well understood that basic health and social services are an essential human right and oral care is a significant component, not a lot is being done. Throughout the country, individual treatment plans for oral health are not always available for people and there are very few oral health promotion and prevention activities despite the government funding. Individuals, specifically children, on state treatment plans should have access to basic oral health care. Since oral diseases are for the most part preventable, and thus oral health prevention and promotion should be the top priority (South African National Oral Health Strategy, 2005).

Factors Contributing to Inequality in Oral Care

While there are set national goals in order to promote oral health in communities, there needs to be a better understanding of the diverse community. Even with these goals being present, oral disease remains as a major public health problem in South Africa because of its impact on quality life, its severity and more recently high prevalence. The greatest burden of this disease has been placed on the public sector to provide cost-effective oral care and therefore has resulted in consistent health inequalities. Factors determining the quality of dental care received, specifically in reference to caries (tooth decay) is utilisation of services due to access to and availability of the services, nutritional intake, and socioeconomic status. Therefore, health care planning efforts need to target the reduction of the burden of these oral diseases in all communities throughout the country and specifically ...