Does Bad Dental Health Affect The Economy?

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DENTAL NEWS

While it has long been known that a bad economy will impact the dental industry --most notably by encouraging newly unemployed people to get work dental work done before their insurance runs out-- can the reverse also be true?

According to the UK-based charity British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) it is true as they recently released a study that found that an estimated 2 million workers (or 7% of the UK workforce) took sick time off at least once in the past five years because of oral health problems, thereby causing unnecessary damage to the British economy.

"Poor oral health habits like these contribute to around three in every ten adults suffering regular dental pain and tooth decay", said Dr. Nigel Carter OBE of the BDHF. "It is inevitable that significant numbers of people are taking sick days off work and (thereby) damaging the productivity of the UK economy."

The BDHF published their findings as part of its annual 'National Smile Month' campaign and warned that the 2 million worker figure is probably even higher as it doesn't take into account that poor dental health has been shown to also put people at greater risk of serious health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and strokes.

"The importance of oral health can often be overshadowed in the workplace by the more common causes of short-term absences such as colds, flu, stomach upsets, headaches, migraines, back pain and stress", said Dr. Carter. "However, our findings show that it affects a significant number of workers over time and is an important factor in a healthy workforce."