The Platform for Better Oral Health in Europe has successfully placed oral health onto the health agenda of the European Union during the 2019-2024 mandate. We are now proud to renew and strengthen our efforts to maintain the momentum high in the 2024-2029 mandate, marked by the launch of our new Manifesto at the European Parliament on 13 February 2024.

Oral diseases and oral conditions are the most prevalent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Europe. They are strongly interlinked with other diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. In addition, oral conditions impact people throughout their life course, with higher prevalence and worse outcomes among vulnerable populations.

We call for policy actions by EU policymakers for all people in the EU to reduce the strain of oral diseases and conditions on societies and healthcare systems:

1. Place oral conditions at the heart of the EU’s ambitions to tackle the rising burden of NCDs;
2. Include preventive oral products within the EU’s Critical Medicines initiative;
3. Dedicate funding from EU programmes such as EU4Health and Horizon Europe towards research in oral health.

In addition, cooperation with EU Member States will be essential to ensure well-rounded action on all levels. Therefore, we call for EU policymakers to drive impact at Member State level:

1. Promote and encourage the adoption of best practices which have successfully improved oral health;
2. Support the implementation of the WHO Global Action Plan on Oral Health 2023-2030;
3. Facilitate the implementation of integrated healthcare teams and a primary care workforce which can cater to the needs of the population.