Oral Health Meets Commercial Determinants: An Opportunity to Bridge Individual and Structural Approaches.

Abstract

Oral diseases are among the most prevalent conditions affecting Australians, yet oral health agendas often focus on individual treatment rather than prevention at the population level. Viewing oral health through a commercial determinants of health lens provides an opportunity to bridge this treatment-centred approach with a prevention-focused agenda that targets structural determinants of oral health-the causes of the causes. We highlight the role of structural and commercial factors, operating outside an individual's control, that drive the high prevalence of oral disease and inequities at a population level. Good oral health is a human right, and the role of commercial actors must be acknowledged and addressed to improve health and reduce inequities.