Time to implement national oral health policy in India

Though, the blue print of the National Oral Health Policy that was drafted at developing an efficient oral health care delivery mechanism to address the oral health needs of its countrymen it still remains as a draft since last 15 years due to very poorly motivated policy makers. The lack of a well-organized oral health care delivery system due to absence of an oral health policy could be one of the main reasons for an increasing oral disease load in addition to poverty, geographic isolation and lack of perceived need for dental care, especially among masses. The blueprint of the national oral health policy [9] that was drafted at the 4 th conference of central council of health and family welfare in 1995 at New Delhi aimed at developing an efficient oral health care delivery mechanism to address the oral health needs of its countrymen still remains as a draft since last 15 years due to very poorly motivated policy makers. The literate people with minimal basic education should be selected from rural and urban areas and be trained through certificate courses at the nearest primary health centers (PHCs), community health centers (CHCs) and dental colleges in prevention based dental education, basic oral hygiene, oral prophylaxis, recording the oral health status, identifying various oral diseases through screening and making appropriate referrals.