Interpretation of the Healthy Oral Action Plan (2019–2025) Released by the National Health Commission

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned that on the 15th, the General Office of the National Health Commission released an interpretive document for the “Healthy Oral Health Action Plan (2019–2025)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Action Plan”). This is a significant measure to implement the objectives and requirements set forth in the “Outline of the Healthy China 2030 Planning” and the “Medium- and Long-Term Plan for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control in China (2017–2025),” effectively safeguarding the oral health of the public, and holds great significance for advancing the construction of Healthy China.

Oral health is a vital component of overall health and serves as an important indicator of the physical and mental well-being, as well as the level of civilization, of residents in a country or region. Oral diseases are common and frequently occurring conditions that affect the health of Chinese residents; they not only impair physiological functions such as mastication and speech but are also closely associated with systemic diseases, including stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and digestive disorders.

The results of the Fourth National Oral Health Epidemiological Survey, released in 2017, indicate that on one hand, with socioeconomic development and changes in dietary habits, the prevalence of dental caries among children is on the rise, while the periodontal health status of adults remains concerning. On the other hand, as supply-side reforms in oral healthcare services continue to deepen, Chinese residents have demonstrated varying degrees of improvement in oral health literacy and health-related behaviors, along with an increased utilization of oral hygiene services.

Survey results also indicate that the Comprehensive Intervention Project for Major Public Health Issues in Pediatric Oral Diseases has achieved significant effectiveness. The prevalence of dental caries among 12-year-old children in counties (districts) covered by the project is lower than the national average in China. In particular, regions such as Beijing and Shanghai, which implemented the comprehensive intervention program for pediatric oral diseases earlier and achieved full coverage of eligible children, reported caries prevalence rates nearly 50% lower than the national average.

The “Healthy China 2030” Planning Outline and the Medium- and Long-Term Plan for the Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases in China (2017–2025) explicitly set the target of “keeping the dental caries prevalence rate among 12-year-old children below 25%.”

In 2017, the National Health Commission, in conjunction with the General Administration of Sport of China, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, and the All-China Women’s Federation, jointly issued the Action Plan for Healthy Lifestyles for All (2017–2025). This initiative launched a nationwide special campaign on “Three Reductions and Three Improvements” (reducing salt, oil, and sugar intake; promoting healthy oral health, healthy body weight, and healthy bones), with a particular emphasis on advancing “healthy oral health” to enhance public awareness and behavioral capabilities regarding oral hygiene. To comprehensively advance oral health initiatives, this plan has been formulated.

The Action Plan adheres to goal-oriented, problem-oriented, and demand-driven principles, highlighting foresight, pertinence, and operational feasibility, and is characterized by the following distinct features:

First, it embodies oral health management for the entire population across the full life cycle. The Action Plan is fundamentally aimed at improving the oral health of the public. Based on a whole-population and full-life-cycle approach, it implements targeted interventions for major oral health issues and their influencing factors at different stages of life, comprehensively safeguarding the public’s oral health, and strengthening oral health services for key groups, including pregnant and postpartum women, children and adolescents, occupational populations, and the elderly.

Second, it embodies the principle of prioritizing prevention and shifting the focus upstream. It advocates the concepts that “everyone is the primary person responsible for their own health” and “parents are the primary persons responsible for their children’s oral health.” By strengthening health education, controlling risk factors, emphasizing the reduction of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and high-sugar foods, promoting smoking bans in public places, and intervening in high-risk behaviors such as long-term betel nut chewing, it aims to encourage the public to adopt healthy behaviors and lifestyles.

Third, the objectives are clear and actionable. The Action Plan proposes oral health indicators tailored to different population groups, thereby concretizing the tasks and targets and making the work process measurable and evaluable. The Action Plan outlines a phased approach for the Healthy Oral Health Campaign, specifying development goals for 2020 and 2025. Localities are required to determine their own work objectives in accordance with the national campaign’s requirements and formulate action plans suited to local development needs.

The Action Plan clarifies the guiding principles for oral health initiatives, emphasizing a people-centered approach to health, prioritizing prevention while integrating prevention and treatment, focusing on key areas, and coordinating resources. Based on the current status of oral disease prevention and control and operational requirements, it establishes overall objectives for 2025 along with five quantifiable performance indicators, and proposes four specific actions.

1. Oral Health Behavior Popularization Initiative. Starting from the dual aspects of popularizing health knowledge and promoting healthy behaviors, this initiative emphasizes scientific and widespread oral health education, and proposes specific measures targeting key risk factors that pose significant threats to oral health, such as consumption of sugary foods, tobacco use, and betel quid chewing.

Second, the Oral Health Management Optimization Initiative. Targeting key oral health issues among specific populations—namely, individuals during the first 1,000 days of life, children, working-age adults, and the elderly—this initiative provides categorized guidance, strengthens early diagnosis and treatment, and promotes a shift from disease-focused treatment to comprehensive health management.

Third, the Action Plan for Enhancing Oral Health Capabilities. Improve the oral health service system and strengthen the development of specialized human resources in dentistry. Establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, enhance data analysis and utilization, and gradually achieve regular updates and publication of residents’ oral health status and prevention and control information.

4. Action Plan for the Development of the Oral Health Industry. Fully leverage the market’s role in allocating resources in non-essential oral health sectors, guide the high-quality development of oral health services, and meet the public’s diverse and personalized oral health needs. Promote innovation and upgrading in the oral health manufacturing sector, and facilitate the translation of scientific achievements into practical applications as well as the adoption of appropriate technologies.

To ensure the achievement of the objectives outlined in the action plan, safeguard measures are proposed across four areas: strengthening organizational leadership, publicity and guidance, cooperation and exchange, and effectiveness evaluation. All regions are required to attach great importance to oral health initiatives, coordinate resources, improve mechanisms, increase support for rural and impoverished areas, conduct regular process and outcome evaluations, and ensure the effective implementation of all tasks.

Related Reading:

Notice of the General Office of the National Health Commission on Issuing the Healthy Oral Health Action Plan (2019–2025)

Below is the illustrated interpretation: