Sri Lanka, March 15 -- A report published by the World Health Organisation has revealed that 3.5 billion people suffer from oral diseases with three out of four affected living in low and middle-income countries.

Health Secretary Dr. Palitha Mahipala said that oral health had long been neglected in global health, but many oral diseases could be prevented and treated with the cost-effective measures outlined in the report.

He was participating at the occasion of distributing dental micromotors worth Rs 3.5 million to strengthen the dental health care services through the World Bank project to strengthen the primary health care system of the Health Ministry.

Dental micromotors are electrically powered devices used in dental clinics and s...