A future-oriented discussion of ways to revise present systems of oral health care so as to make them more relevant and responsive to the needs of society. The book opens with an overview of present systems of oral health care and a discussion of their positive and negative features. A second section, devoted to a discussion of the evolution of oral health care, provides important background information for understanding the main sources of resistance to revisions in present systems. To illustrate the design and operation of an alternative system, the report describes an innovative oral health care programme now being tested in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The programme is based on the principles of primary health care in the setting of the local community with support from centrally organized referral levels. The concluding sections discuss ways in which an analysis of oral health care needs and the work skills required can improve the cost-effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency of oral health services.

ara eng fre rus spa.

jpn.

WHODOC

WHO monograph

4