Poor people from developing countries pay the highest price for poor oral health. / Image: Pavel Danilyuk/Pexels

University of the Western Cape (UWC) Honorary Professor and newly inaugurated President of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), Prof Raman Bedi, has pledged to elevate oral health from the margins of public health and place it alongside major chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Prof Bedi, who is also an Emeritus Professor at King's College London, made the commitment after becoming the first dentist in the history of the federation to be elected president of the global public health body in May. He will serve in the role until 2028.

“For most of the last century, the mouth has been treated as a separate country with its own borders, its own clinicians, no diplomatic relations with the rest of the body,” he said, referring to the disconnect between oral health and systematic health.

He said having a dentist occupying this influential office signalled that “those borders are finally coming down”.

“Oral disease is the most common non-communicable disease (NCD) on earth, yet it has been all but invisible in the global NCD conversation. My hope is that this appointment helps move oral health from the margins of public health into its mainstream… not as a special interest, but as an integral part of how the world prevents and manages diabetes, heart disease and cancer,” he said.

With its headquarters in Geneva, the WFPHA brings together over 130 national and regional public health associations representing millions of public health professionals across the world.

Describing the appointment as a “personal honour”, Prof Bedi outlined four priorities for his presidency, including:

• launching an open-access WFPHA academic journal, including free publication opportunities for some Global South authors;
• strengthening member organisations through initiatives such as a bi-monthly newsletter and travel grants for young public health professionals;
• ensuring the World Congresses on Public Health are well organised and financially sustainable; and,
• building stronger partnerships with global public health organisations.

Research shows that children are disproportionately affected by oral diseases due to lack of prevention and treatment. / Image: cottonbro/Pexels

One of the vulnerable populations that concerns Prof Bedi as an oral health specialist is children, who continue to be disproportionately affected by oral diseases due to a lack of prevention and treatment.

He is also concerned about people with disabilities, who are often excluded from accessing dental care, and older adults, many of whom live with multiple long-term health conditions that can complicate their oral health needs.

Prof Bedi said it is often the poorest people who pay the highest price for poor oral health because they neither have access to prevention nor treatment. He argued that addressing these inequalities requires structural changes to make oral healthcare more accessible at clinic level.

“We must stop delivering oral healthcare behind a separate door at a separate price and bring it into primary care, where the people who need it most can actually access it,” he said.

Referring to his vision of creating an open-access journal for researchers from the Global South, Prof Bedi expressed concern that much of the research conducted in developing countries remains inaccessible to the very communities it’s intended to benefit, because it’s often locked behind paywalls.

“That is indefensible. If we are serious about health equity, the people closest to the problem must be able to publish their evidence, set their own research questions and be cited as the authorities they are,” he said.

Prof Bedi argued that making knowledge freely available not only ensures that it reaches those who need it most, but also helps build the next generation of scientists. He added that African universities, such as UWC, should take a leading role in conducting research that integrates oral health into the broader non-communicable disease agenda on a continent increasingly burdened by chronic health conditions.

UWC Honorary Professor Raman Bedi / Image: Supplied

“The researchers who understand the African context best are African researchers, and global policy is far stronger when it is shaped by them rather than for them,” he said.

The Dean of UWC’s Faculty of Dentistry, Prof Veerasamy Yengopal, said it was an honour to have Prof Bedi associated with the University, and praised his vision and passion for placing oral health firmly on the global public health agenda.

“His commitment and determination to tackle uncomfortable issues such as inequity, as well as his dedication to nurturing the next generation of public health leaders, particularly in regions carrying the highest burden of disease, are what make him stand out,” he said.