Basic Sanitation and Dental Caries: the association between them

Abstract

Dental caries is one of the most common chronic diseases in humans. It is the result of an interaction between fermentable carbohydrates and bacteria, which adhere to teeth and produce corrosive acids. This disease is an important public health problem, as it generates negative health impacts, such as pain, discomfort, in addition to social limitations that affect people's quality of life. It is already known that access to fluoride and a balanced diet are ways to fight caries, but not everyone has access to these ways. Besides the oral hygiene, one way to combat caries in the most vulnerable population is through fluoridation of the public water supply. However, for this population to have access to fluoridated water, they must have access to basic sanitation. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 2 billion people still do not have basic sanitation facilities in the world, only 65% of the population has access to safely managed water services in Latin America and about 15 million Brazilians do not receive running water daily. Thus, fluoridated water does not reach the population that should benefit from it, causing caries to remain a global public health problem. Therefore, for caries to be combatted globally, there must first be investments in basic sanitation, with the objective that people have access to fluoridated water or minimum conditions to perform oral hygiene.