Designing a government dental service for Papua New Guinea

Dentistry deals with all the diseases and injuries of the mouth, teeth, jaws and surrounding face (for all age groups). Over the past 30 years government dental services in Papua New Guinea have been modelled on a New Zealand dental service directed primarily at children and adolescents for treating tooth decay. In designing a government dental service for the future, the two basic goals must be to retain the natural dentition for life for all Papua New Guineans and to eliminate oral cancer. The basic principles for such a dental service are to build on the specific realities of Papua New Guinea, encourage widespread community participation, base the dental services on the whole family rather than the child, make dentistry an integral part of the health services, and make dental care available at every level of health service. The seven major factors in the design are the foundational role of the dental doctor, with clear roles for other dental workers, a sound career structure, provision of continuing education, an effective supervisory structure and statistical reporting system, and a long-term financial commitment from the government for dental services. Over the next few years the priorities in implementing the design are to concentrate in selected model areas, emphasize the prevention of mouth cancer and tooth loss, and minimize the restoration of decayed teeth.