Conceptualizing the Child's Right to Oral Health: A Rights-Based Approach to Dental Caries

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Human Rights Law
• Pediatric Dentistry

Background:

• Dental caries is the most prevalent noncommunicable disease worldwide, disproportionately affecting children.
• Despite its global burden, dental caries remains a neglected public health concern.
• The World Health Organization acknowledged the right to oral health in 2024.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a comprehensive framework for children's right to oral health.
• To analyze dental caries as a child rights matter.
• To propose a rights-based approach for regulating oral health risk factors.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of provisions from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
• Examination of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Development of a rights-based framework for oral health regulation.

Main Results:

• Human rights treaties do not explicitly mention the right to oral health.
• Oral health, specifically dental caries, is intrinsically linked to human rights.
• Dental caries is demonstrably a matter of children's rights.

Conclusions:

• A rights-based approach is essential for addressing dental caries in children.
• The proposed framework can guide policy and regulation to protect children's oral health.
• Integrating oral health into human rights discourse is crucial for public health advancement.