Oral health policy model for Turkey: how to deliver preventive services?

Background: Oral health is considered a neglected area in Turkey. To date, therapeutic services have dominated the provision of oral health care, while preventive services have been underfunded and inconsistently delivered. This study aims to elicit the need for the integration of preventive oral health services into the Turkish public health system by revealing the viewpoints of dentists, citizens, health managers and experts in Turkey.

Methods: A snowball sampling method was used, and qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 47 participants. Data were collected between April and August 2023. Both content and descriptive analyses were conducted, with content analysis performed using the MAXQDA 2023 software.

Results: The codes were grouped into three main themes: opinions on the provision of preventive oral and dental health services, opinions about family dentistry, current problems in oral and dental health services in Turkey. Results indicate that there is an urgent need to provide preventive oral health services in a systematic way and that the public is unaware of oral health. Provision of oral health services within primary health care services should be presented through the family dentistry system.

Conclusion: A roadmap for integrating preventive oral health services into the Turkish public health system was developed, incorporating preventive practices targeting both individuals and communities, using a public health approach.