The implications of a cost-of-living crisis for oral health and dental care

Cope, Anwen Louise ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3721-9455 and Chestnutt, Ivor Gordon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9228-800X 2023. The implications of a cost-of-living crisis for oral health and dental care. British Dental Journal 234 , pp. 501-504. 10.1038/s41415-023-5685-0

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Abstract

A cost-of-living crisis is currently affecting the UK. While this has been explored in terms of the effect on dental practice, the dental implications for patients and for population oral health have not received sufficient attention. This opinion piece discusses how: i) financial pressures leading to hygiene poverty may limit the ability to afford the basic products necessary to maintain oral hygiene; ii) food insecurity is associated with a diet high in sugar and lacking in appropriate nutrition; and iii) reduced disposable income may limit the ability to attend and successfully engage with dental care. The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the lowest paid members of the dental team is also considered. The most common dental diseases are closely correlated with social and economic deprivation and the points discussed here act as a reminder of how the present financial circumstances have significant potential to widen oral health inequalities.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Dentistry
Publisher:	Springer Nature
ISSN:	0007-0610
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 December 2022
Date of Acceptance:	7 December 2022
Last Modified:	10 Nov 2023 18:53
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/154821

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