Oral Health and Climate Change: Working Toward Adaptive Strategies to the Changing Environment

Abstract

Climate change has been acknowledged as one of the current's century most significant global public health challenges. Climate change has resulted in a multifaceted impact on oral health, including the exacerbation of periodontal diseases, enamel erosion, and the increased risk of oral cancers. At the policy level, oral healthcare initiatives should be incorporated into climate adaptation strategies. Key recommendations include promoting climate-resilient dental practices (like mobile clinics and tele-dentistry), integrating sustainable oral healthcare practices, and advocating for water conservation. To summarize, these findings offer a blueprint to mitigate oral health disparities and augment the resilience of dental care systems, emphasizing the linkages between environmental policies and oral health outcomes.

Keywords: Climate; dental care; oral health.