The economic consequences of oral disorders at global, regional, and national levels.

BACKGROUND

A comprehensive evaluation of the macroeconomic burden of common oral conditions is critical to inform clinical and research resource allocation. This study assessed the global macroeconomic impact of oral diseases - including untreated dental caries, periodontal diseases, edentulism, and other oral disorders - across 192 countries in 2021.

METHODS

Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for oral disorders overall and by subtype were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 database. Economic indicators were obtained from World Bank's World Development Indicators. The macroeconomic impact was estimated using the Value of Lost Welfare (VLW) model. This framework, which is distinct from approaches focused on direct costs or health expenditures, integrates disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) with the value of a statistical life (VSL) to assess broader welfare loss. All results are reported in 2021 international dollars (PPP-adjusted).

RESULT: In 2021, the global VLW attributed to oral disorders reached $234.307 billion, equivalent to 0.24% of the global GDP. Edentulism was the largest contributor (0.16% of GDP), followed by periodontal disease (0.05% of GDP). Among the GBD super-regions, The Central European, Eastern European, and Central Asian super-region bore the highest relative burden for oral disorders (0.37% of GDP), driven primarily by edentulism (0.26% of GDP). Meanwhile, the highest burden for periodontal disease was in the South Asia super-region (0.058% of GDP), while sub-Saharan Africa super-region had the highest burden for deciduous caries (0.001% of GDP).

CONCLUSION

The macroeconomic burden imposed by oral diseases represents a significant global public health challenge. These findings underscore the urgent need to integrate oral healthcare into universal health coverage and non-communicable disease agendas.