Position statement on oral health promotion

OAPHD PERMISSION STATEMENT Ontario Public Health Association Position Paper and Resolution (2007) 3 Position Statement on Oral Health Promotion I. POSITION STATEMENT The OAPHD supports the adoption of a contemporary oral health promotion approach. [...] It recognizes that in order to improve the oral health status of all Ontarians, it is necessary to embrace the five health promotion strategies developed by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, while addressing the social determinants of oral health in everyday practice. [...] Health Promotion The World Health Organization defines health promotion as, the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health…a commitment to dealing with the challenges of reducing inequities, extending the scope of prevention, and helping people to cope with their circumstances…creating environments conducive to health, in which people are better able to take [...] The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a result of the realization that health education and clinical preventive approaches alone were not successful in creating sustainable improvements in health nor were they successful in decreasing health inequalities2. [...] Ontario Public Health Association Position Paper and Resolution (2007) 6 Position Statement on Oral Health Promotion action plans to enhance the health of communities are increasingly being built around the social determinants that influence overall health and well-being.