Racism and oral health inequities;an introduction

Abstract

Contemporary evidence shows that: (i) racial minorities often bear the greatest burden of oral diseases; (ii) there are notable differences between socially advantaged and disadvantaged racial groups and; (iii) racial inequities in oral health persist over time and across space. In the four papers that follow, we seek to contribute to the discourse around oral health and racial inequities through recognition that racism has a structural basis and is embedded in long-standing social policy in almost every developed (and developing) nation. The papers formed the basis of a symposium entitled ‘Racism and oral health inequities’ at the 99th General Session of the International Association of Dental Research held July 2021 in Boston, United States. The authors responded to the international Black Lives Matter movement that gained momentum in 2019, responding in many calls to arms for greater exposure to the insidious impacts on racism on all facets of health and wellbeing, and the regulatory regimes in which they operate. The papers provide an overview of the history of racism in oral health inequities at an international level, with a specific focus on the implications of addressing (or not addressing) racism in population oral health at an international level. This includes the role of advocacy and engaging with health policymakers to both minimize racism and to increase comprehension of its residual effects that may lead to misinformed policy.