Oral health awareness in Vietnam
Medical surgeons and oncologists in southern Vietnam
are concerned about oral health education for patients as
well as for doctors. The low level of health literacy of oral
cancer patients has been related to extreme patient load,
lack of time for health care professionals and lack of human
resources. People are frightened and confused about
their disease perceiving oral cancer as a contagious disease.
Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach to oral health
care of cancer patients is required.52,53 Access to public oral
health care education is part of that approach. Many concepts
of this education have unclear boundaries between
access and demand, between health status and health care
and between perceived individual need and social responsibility.
54 Vietnam has a Cancer Prevention Program as well
as a National Oral Health Promotion Program, yet there
is a lack of patients’ knowledge of their oral disease. The
WHO Basic Package of Oral Care (BPOC) is an example
of proven effectiveness and is acceptable, feasible and affordable
for most disadvantaged communities to improve
their oral health care.55 The three components of BPOC are
oral urgent treatment, affordable fluoride toothpaste, and
atraumatic restorative treatment (ART).55