Comparative Study of Oral Health Promotion Activities Between Malaysia and Thailand-an Outbound Programme

The Comparative Study of Oral Health Care Delivery Systems (between Malaysia and other countries) is a compulsory course in the Master of Community Oral Health (MCOH) degree. In 2015, the Department of Community Oral Health and Clinical Prevention, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya formed a partnership with Chiang Mai University to organise an outbound programme which took place from 3-7 August 2015. Three MCOH postgraduate students from UM and one accompanying lecturer participated in this outbound programme.    The aim of the programme was to compare and evaluate the oral health care delivery systems between Malaysia and Thailand. The objectives of the outbound programme were 1) To observe the public health care services in Chiang Mai. 2) To observe the implementation of the central policy through a field visit at different levels, i.e. central (federal), intermediate (state & district level) and primary health care delivery system between Malaysia and Chiang Mai.    During the outbound program, the places visited were Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University. Intercountry Centre for Oral Health (ICOH), a community-based defluoridation programme, hospital and district level oral healthcare facilities in Sansai district and Rajanagarindra Institute of Child Development.   This report is aimed to describe the oral health promotion activities in Thailand in comparison to those activities in Malaysia. In Thailand, various programmes are being implemented to promote the health (including oral health) of the population. These activities are organized by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (Thai Health). Many of the activities place emphasis on individualised oral health promotion activities. Thailand is also known for its community-based on oral health promotion programme which was developed and delivered by the ICOH.