Rebuilding oral health systems in post-conflict Syria: a call for integration, innovation, and sustainability

Oral health is a vital yet often overlooked component of health system recovery in conflict and post-conflict settings, despite its importance for population well-being, resilience, and social stability. In Syria, more than a decade of conflict has severely disrupted health infrastructure, displaced oral health professionals, and weakened service delivery, exacerbating the burden of untreated oral diseases amid increasing environmental and climate-related stressors. This Perspective explores how Syria could rebuild its oral health system within planetary boundaries, positioning oral health as an integral element of climate-resilient healthcare systems, human security, and health emergency preparedness and response. Drawing on the WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan (2023-2030), the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and lessons from Syria's crisis response, the paper proposes system-level reforms that integrate sustainability, climate resilience, and preparedness across governance, service delivery, workforce education, and supply chains. Key strategic priorities include embedding oral health within primary care and school health programs, promoting prevention-oriented and community-based approaches, adopting climate-resilient and environmentally responsible infrastructure, and institutionalizing emergency preparedness and transdisciplinary competencies within dental education and professional training. Rebuilding oral health systems in post-conflict Syria through a planetary health and human security lens offers a pathway to strengthen health system resilience, safeguard essential services under crisis conditions, and contribute to broader health, environmental, and socioeconomic recovery objectives, with relevance for other fragile and climate-vulnerable settings.