As part of its Vision 2030 initiative, the FDI World Dental Federation has committed to realising access to quality oral healthcare adapted to their needs for people with disabilities.
With an awareness that, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures, about 15% of the world's population live with some form of disability and that they are more prone to developing oral disease that other groups in the community, distinguished expert Dr Shiamaa Almashhadani, who is currently completing her PhD on improving oral health for children with disabilities at the Dental College, University of Plymouth, has highlighted the many challenges that patients with disabilities may face when seeking care and how oral health professionals need to adapt to care for those patients.
While it is acknowledged that those living with a disability should have equitable access to the oral healthcare they need, the truth is someone living with a disability "may face stigma, financial hardships, inaccessibility or even communications issues when seeking care", a stark reality underlined by parents of those living with a disability who have spoken candidly to FDI about the difficulties they encounter sourcing the oral healthcare they need for their children.
One such person is Dr Fida Diab who talks about the many struggles she has faced seeking dental care for her daughter and how, as a result, she believes that "oral health professionals must be made aware of the different needs of patients with disabilities and trained accordingly."
The interview can be found at "Talking oral health for people with disabilities: everyone should have access to quality care" where Dr Almashhadani stresses that the provision of "timely, quality care" is important for this group to ensure they can enjoy the same level of good oral health as everyone else.
