The index of cavities, removed teeth and fillings in Croatia is 3.99 and only Bulgaria has a worse index in the EU - 4.4. Great Britain, Denmark and Germany have the best such index - 0.7, which means that less than one tooth has caries, a filling or has been extracted.
Croatian citizens' oral health has been deteriorating since 1999, it was said.
"An index of 3.99 means that our 12-year-olds have nearly four decaying or extracted teeth on average, which shows that some among them have ten such teeth and some two," said Ivana Cukovic Bagic, chairwoman of a commission which drew up the Strategic Plan.
The aim of the Plan is to improve oral health through education, the adoption of measures for better teeth monitoring, and better dental health protection.
The Strategic Plan puts a lot of responsibility on dentists, physicians and teachers to pay attention to dental health and its impact on overall health, said Health Minister Sinisa Varga.
Epidemiological data shows that nearly 90 percent of the population need dental work, and teeth loss in Croatia occurs much earlier than elsewhere in the EU. It is estimated that nearly 95 percent of Croats have some dental pathology. Periodontal diseases affect all social strata in Croatia, about 80% of the population, whereas in the rest of the EU they occur among people with lower incomes.
According to Council of European Dentists data from 2009, Croatia has one dentist per 1,100 inhabitants as against one per 1,500 in the EU on average.