Regardless of country, societal factors in the health of indigenous communities are the focus of inequality in dental care. The indigenous communities are exposed to prolonged absorption, poverty, racial prejudice and loss of land rights in government policy practically with no exception. The whole fabric of many Indigenous societies has been torn together, damages which cannot be rectified with short remedies or even careful interventions which offer isolated and localized activities instead of upstream remedies (Oral health | Healthy people, 2020). Globally, several scholarly evaluations have focused at indigenous people's oral health interventions. These evaluations have shown that successful interventions have utilized community-based, interdisciplinary, and culturally acceptable techniques; employees in their delivery and the health outcomes (Jamieson et al., 2021). The assessments also disclose that: adopting a 'green' framework to oral health prevention, such as a multidisciplinary and multi-strategy approach; sustainable investment and social and environmental circumstances represent important barriers to good oral therapies posing a consistent hurdle at intervention level. Oral health promotion approaches in Canada emphasize on pregnant women, through programs to advance traditional child-rearing traditions, to reduce parental-risk behavior associated with oral diseases, to lower the burden on oral health that plagues Aboriginal communities in Canada (Lawrence, 2010). Many Aboriginal people believe that a return to traditions helps promote general cultural well-being. Control of dental disorders based on a cultural wellness paradigm may seek to intertwine traditional behaviors (and wisdom) and present oral health behaviors (Tiwari et al., 2018).
Globally, the prevalence and severity of dental caries among indigenous peoples are higher than in non-indigenous groups. It is indeed age, sex and nation. Untreated dental decay and lost teeth due to the pathology is notably noticed at higher rates. This analysis exposes the inacceptable imbalances resulting from western imperialism and dental service patterns, favoring non-indigenous populations over indigenous communities. Increased awareness, focused prevention programs and governmental measures (including at UN and WHO) at cultural safety oral health levels are required (Patel et al., 2017). This analysis suggests the adoption of a comprehensive approach that respects Aboriginal culture and the world perspectives and recognizes traditional health practices in order to enhance and ultimately preserve Aboriginal population oral health at a level equivalent to non-Aboriginal people. Secondly, health education and promotion methods that are included into current health services, such children's care or prenatal nutrition, are preferred over stand-alone dental initiatives for young indigenous children and are compatible with the prevalent risk factor concept in disease prevention. Programs and interventions should be established in ways that do not segregate the mouth from the rest of the child’s body. As far as early preventative interventions are considered, fluoride varnish initiatives both locally and internationally, have showed that a decrease in dental problems can be obtained for Indigenous children that might potentially minimize oral health inequalities.
Jamieson, L., Hedges, J., Peres, M. A., Guarnizo-Herreño, C. C., & Bastos, J. L. (2021). Challenges in identifying indigenous peoples in population oral health surveys: a commentary. BMC Oral Health, 21(1), 1-6.
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