On a Mission to Shape the Future: ORANGEHealth
On a mission to shape the future: that is the mission of public-private partnership ORANGEHealth. What might this future look like? Imagine visiting the dentist with an oral gum disease. He then performs a saliva test, which confirms his belief that there are indicators that point to type 2 diabetes. The dentist then advises you to visit a doctor for further examination. ‘After all, the mouth is the mirror of health’, says Willem Fokkema, Executive Director at ACTA Dental Research and Programme leader of ORANGEHealth. ‘Moreover, there is potential to use the prevention model of oral healthcare for general healthcare’. Curious to know how? Read it in this interview!
Prevention as a way of life
The prevention model for oral healthcare is ingrained in people’s minds and way of life. The majority of the Dutch population visits the dentist at least once a year. ‘That presents a huge potential for oral healthcare to integrate with general healthcare’, says Fokkema. Since oral healthcare is strong in prevention in the Netherlands, it also presents itself as a very good starting point to look at the rest of one’s health.’ But how are we going to realise this?
Unique consortium
ORANGEHealth (originating from ‘ORal ANd GEneral’ health) presents a unique consortium with more than 80 oral health specialists, patients, knowledge institutions and companies. Their aim is to transform the traditional system with a strategy that spreads over ten years. ‘That is our horizon because transforming a system is a challenge that we are not going to achieve today or tomorrow, it takes one step at a time.’
‘There is a huge potential for oral healthcare to integrate with general healthcare. Since oral healthcare is strong in prevention in the Netherlands, it also presents itself as a very good starting point to look at the rest of one’s health.’- Willem Fokkema, Programme leader of ORANGEHealth
The strategy contains three key focus areas that should help realise the goals. One of the key focus areas is the research and development of tools for innovation, as shown with the saliva test example in the introduction. The other two key focus areas are data infrastructure and monitoring, and field labs and implementation. ‘Eventually, we hope to achieve the goal that oral health is viewed as an integral part of health, instead of a separate aspect’, explains Fokkema.
More years of healthy living by applying prevention
Fokkema sees opportunities when we talk about the health of the elderly. ‘Within oral health, in particular, there is still a lot to be gained. As the elderly get older, the mouth gets less and less attention. And if you think about the relationship between the mouth and diseases, you realise it is very important to keep the mouth clean and healthy’, says Fokkema.
‘However, you can imagine that people who are older receive medication at some point, and for example, they get a dry mouth, and they have difficulty swallowing. And then a cascade of problems arises when these people eat less; they receive liquid food, they become less active, which results in an unhealthy lifestyle. Therefore, it is precisely in that age group that there is still a lot of health gain to be made.’
Health awareness
‘Moreover, we should regard our health as an activity that needs to be continually worked on, instead of viewing it as an end goal’, states Fokkema. Finally, we would like to see that oral health education is added to the school curriculum and that it also becomes part of public information campaigns so that we can really transform the system.’ We have to do it together.
Are you interested in joining ORANGEHealth with your expertise? Then don’t hesitate and contact Willem Fokkema for the opportunities!
This interview is also published in the Health~Holland Update: the Power of Prevention, which is filled with the most important developments in the Dutch Life Sciences & Health sector and brings you up-to-date on the activities on Mission I: Lifestyle and living environment. Read the Update here!
