Cuba has achieved a goal of children's oral health two years ahead of the deadline set by the World Health Organization (WHO), a state dental official announced.
Estela Gispen, president of the Cuban Society of Stomatology, said the country has met the WHO's requirement that 50% of Cuban children ages 5 and 6 are caries-free, according to a story by the Xinhua News Agency.
The number of Cubans who have lost teeth has declined and that 85% of 18-year-olds still have all their teeth, she noted.
The Cuban government hopes to decrease caries in the population by 40% and increase the number of Cubans without gingival and periodontal diseases by 15% by 2015, Gispen said.
She also discussed the country's development of an early detection system for diagnosing oral cancer and resuming dental services in more than 1,300 locations.
The achievements will be announced at the International Convention Dentistry 2010 in Havana this week.
Copyright © 2010 DrBicuspid.com
