A critical analysis of the provision for oral health promotion in South African health policy development

Abstract

The rhetoric of primary health care, health promotion and health service integration is ubiquitous in health policy development in post-apartheid South Africa. However the form in which oral health promotion elements have actually been incorporated into other areas of health care in South Africa and the extent to which they have been implemented, remains unclear. The central aim of this research was to critically analyse oral health promotion elements in health policies in South Africa and determine the extent to which they have been implemented. The study set out to test the hypothesis that oral health promotion is fully integrated into South African health policy and practice.