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Dental health is a neglected topic in travel medicine.

International travel is increasing exponentially. In 2015, international arrivals were as high as 1.18 billion and were projected to reach 1.8 billion by the year 2030 according to the World Tourism Organization forecasts. International travellers encounter many health issues, including dental problems. As a dentist, I would like to highlight that travellers’ oral and dental health is a neglected topic in the travel medicine community. Travellers often encounter various oral health problems leading to the interruption of their travel and decisions to return home earlier to seek dental care. In a study by a major Australian travel insurance company, it was reported that 8.1% of all travel insurance claims from Australian travellers were related to dental conditions, with conservative treatments comprising the majority of these claims. Another study reporting medical events on cargo ships highlighted 5 dental infection events out of 22 illness events recorded over 4 years by the on-board health officers of a large 471 ship cargo company. In a study conducted during an expedition to Mongolia, 14 cases of dental problems were reported by 10 Mongolian escorts out of the 53 health presentations recorded during the 22-day expedition. However, dental care could be provided because of a dentist accompanying the expedition in the locations where there were no other dental services available. A questionnaire study from the UK covering Voluntary Service Oversees (VSO) personnel in developing countries highlighted dental problems as the third leading problem after diarrhoea and skin problems. Furthermore, a study by GeoSentinel also revealed gender differences in the frequency of dental problems and healthcare-seeking behaviour. In conclusion, I would like to urge the travel medicine community to support research on dental problems amongst international travellers. There is a need to better understand the prevalence of these problems and to educate travellers regarding: oral and dental health; the management of minor dental problems during travel, and ways of obtaining access to high standard dental care globally. As dental treatments overseas can be costly and/or substandard, comprehensive information on better precautions, travel insurance and accessible user-friendly databases that record information on the availability and quality of dental care is urgently needed. This is particularly true as tourism and international travel is rising to and within the developing countries.