Aggressive strategic planning for oral health in Kuwait: a decade of post-war successes

Strategic planning and implementation of oral health care and disease prevention programmes after the 1990/91 Gulf war are discussed. The key concept was to develop access to care and disease prevention for all Kuwaiti children in government kindergarten/primary schools and to eliminate emphasis on extractions and restorations. Resources were restored to pre-war levels and then increased. Prevention programmes for 150 000 children were established. Prevention funds increased from 7% to 20% of the oral health budget. Prevention-based dentists increased from 9.7% to 28.0% of staff. Rising caries trends were stabilized or reduced by up to 36.8%. Percentage of caries-free primary dentition in children increased up to 37.6%, permanent dentition up to 27.0%. A dentistry school was established.