Citizens' Watch for Oral Health Campaign
The goal of the Citizens' Watch for Oral Health campaign is:
To create a public climate in which policy proposals to improve oral health are more likely to be understood and supported by the public and policymakers. Key objectives include:
- Work with coalition partners to build the support necessary to promote oral health as an important health issue.
- Work with a broad-based coalition to ensure decision makers understand the cost-savings associated with prevention and translate that understanding into policies.
- Promote the “prevention as a priority” message and approach.
- Develop public support necessary to advance change
Key messages
The core campaign message is:
Oral disease is an infectious, progressive disease that hurts children and seniors and can lead to other health problems. Using the tools and technology available today, oral disease is almost 100% preventable. It's time to invest in the prevention of oral disease, not just expensive treatment.
Other key messages include the following:
- Oral health is part of overall health
- Poor oral health affects quality of life
- Oral disease is linked to other health problems
- Prevention is cost-effective
- When oral disease is left untreated, we all end up paying more
