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Updated: Sep 19, 2025

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Oral Health Meets Commercial Determinants: An Opportunity to Bridge Individual and Structural Approaches
Matt Hopcraft1, Adyya Gupta2, Ankur Singh3,4
1Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
None:
Oral diseases are among the most prevalent conditions affecting Australians, yet oral health agendas often focus on individual treatment rather than prevention at the population level. Viewing oral health through a commercial determinants of health lens provides an opportunity to bridge this treatment-centred approach with a prevention-focused agenda that targets structural determinants of oral health-the causes of the causes. We highlight the role of structural and commercial factors, operating outside an individual's control, that drive the high prevalence of oral disease and inequities at a population level. Good oral health is a human right, and the role of commercial actors must be acknowledged and addressed to improve health and reduce inequities.
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