Abstract
“More than 90 percent of all systemic diseases have oral manifestations, meaning that your dentist could be
the first health care provider to diagnose a health problem” (Raymond Martin, Academy of general
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dentistry).
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Oral health is widely recognized as a significant determinant of general health. The burden of poor oral health
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has crucial social and economic implications, especially in the developing world. Low BMI, poor pregnancy
outcomes, low birth weight, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases are some of the conditions
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associated with compromised oral health. In third world countries, other risk factors such as poor
socioeconomic status, lack of dental health education and awareness and inappropriate health policies further
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contributes to the oral ill health of the general population.
Islamic Republic of Pakistan ever since her embodiment has been paving roads to become a welfare state. On
one hand it is the only Muslim nuclear power, while on other hand the country has been a victim of political
instability and inaptness of beneficial policies. Pakistan has a total population of 180 million, majority of which
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resides in rural areas. Pakistan ranks at 146 out of 187 countries in human development index and spends only
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0.5% of GDP on the health sector which includes oral health services. The challenges to Oral Health care
system in Pakistan are substantial. With scarce resources it is difficult to contend with procurement of dental
treatment; the prevention of oral diseases and the promotion of oral health. There lies a paucity of dental
workforce in Pakistan, especially in rural areas. According to WHO recommendations, dentist to population
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ratio in developing countries should be 1:7500. As of December 2016, the total number of registered dentists
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by PM&DC is 17,125. This makes the dentist to population ratio of 1: 130,581 – this ratio drops to more than 1:
200,000 in rural areas of the country
Hajra Mustasim, Muhammad Humza Bin Saeed. (2017) Reorienting Primary Oral Healthcare – Pakistan Dental Mission 2017, An IMANA-Riphah Collaboration, Journal of Islamic International Medical College, Volume-12, Issue-3.
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