Nearly half the world’s people suffer: WHO

Rotting teeth, swollen gums and oral cancers: nearly half the world's population suffer from mouth diseases, the World Health Organization said yesterday.

A new report highlighted glaring inequities in access to oral health services, saying it badly affected the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.

"Oral health has long been neglected in global health," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, insisting that "many oral diseases can be prevented and treated with the cost-effective measures."

The UN health agency found that 45 percent of the global population, or around 3.5 billion people, are battling tooth decay, gum disease and other oral illnesses.

The report, the first comprehensive picture of the situation across 194 countries, found that global cases have increased by one billion over the past 30 years.

The WHO said that was "a clear indication that many people do not have access to prevention and treatment of oral diseases."

The most common diseases are dental caries, or tooth decay, severe gum disease, tooth loss and oral cancers.