Dental News - Today is World Cavity-Free Future Day

Search Dental Tribune

Today is World Cavity-Free Future Day

The ACFF network now spans across the globe, drawing together hundreds of like-minded individuals who work collectively at local, regional, national and international levels to help ensure that the future need not bear the unnecessary burden of dental caries. (Image: Rido/Shutterstock.com)

Wed. 13. October 2021

save

DUNDEE, Scotland: World Cavity-Free Future Day (WCFFDay) is a global awareness day and is celebrated around the world on 14 October. The campaign is largely community driven, and the events are led by the Alliance for a Cavity-Free Future (ACFF).

Chapters of the ACFF around the world are run by dedicated local teams of dental and public health professionals and educators. Outreach events, educational drives, free oral-care consultations, professional webinars, school-based education efforts and many more activities are coordinated by local communities and partner organisations. Through these local events, the campaign seeks to engage communities around the world in this global fight and offers the chance to send a wake-up call to those with the ability to make social, economic and political changes to encourage action towards achieving a cavity-free future.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken global healthcare structures since the start of 2020. In addition to the intense stress placed on wider health systems, it is becoming apparent that oral health is also experiencing the knock-on effects of the pandemic, with an upturn in the numbers of people suffering from untreated dental issues, which is leading to an increase in cavities”, explained the ACFF. This may be owing to a lack of access to care when teams are refocused or dental practices closed, or perhaps through a personal decision to forgo care owing to the fear of unnecessary close contact with others. It may also be through a lack of focus on oral hygiene or possibly owing to not having access to the right toothpaste or other tools needed to maintain oral health.

That is why, for the 2021 WCFFDay campaign, the ACFF is supporting care providers in re-engaging their patients and the public with their oral health. By breaking down any barriers in their local communities, encouraging the public back to their oral health teams and providing them with the resources to look after their oral health at home, WCFFDay 2021 aims to send the message “help us to help you keep cavity-free”.

WCFFDay was launched as an initiative in 2016 by the ACFF. Its mission is to address the need for greater global awareness of dental caries. It is estimated that 2.3 billion people globally suffer from untreated caries of permanent teeth, and a further 530 million children suffer from untreated caries of primary teeth.

Tags:
To post a reply please login or register
advertisement
advertisement