'Love Teeth Day' campaign in China and its impact on oral public health - the twentieth anniversary

The date 20 September has been designated 'Love Teeth Day' (LTD) in China since 1989. The aim of this nationwide campaign is to encourage all Chinese people to conduct preventive oral public health care and promote oral health education; therefore it is beneficial to improve the levels of oral health in the whole Chinese population. Public awareness of oral health in China has substantially improved following 20 years of hard work from dental professionals and relevant departments. The main activities were planned and conducted by the National Committee for Oral Health and local committees at provincial, county and municipal levels to support preventive oral care. The LTD campaign attracts more and more attention from the public on the prevention and control of oral diseases, which is considered to be an extremely pioneering health care programme in the field of Chinese dentistry. This review provides an overview of the huge LTD campaign over the past 20 years, aiming to share our experiences with international dental professionals.