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Running head:  DENTAL HYGIENE

Dental Hygiene as a Social Problem

Institution

Name
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DENTAL HYGIENE

Dental Hygiene as a Social Problem

A social problem refers to behavior or condition that exists and has a negative influence

on a large group of people. This condition or practice is at this moment acknowledged by the

affected group and composite measure undertaken to address it. Dental hygiene can also refer to

as oral hygiene, which implies the practices carried out by an individual to ensure that the mouth

is clean and not prone to diseases and other challenges, for instance, bad oral smell. If oral

hygiene is not adhered to, it is considered to be a social problem because its related

consequences and impact are negative (Darby, 2009). It is, therefore, worthwhile to carry out

oral hygiene frequently to ensure the preclusion of dentally related ailments.

This problem profoundly affects the country to a large extent as poor dental health is

associated with various related diseases. These diseases will eventually weaken the affected

group making them less efficient in supplying labor to the government (Darby, 2009). These will

lead to the poor economic performance of the state as some factors of production are inadequate.

According to research, the problem exists in wide range whereby, cases of dental diseases such

as cavities and dental carries have increased in the recent decades. The leading cause has been

attributed to the consumption of the upcoming sugary stuff. The main aim of the proposal is to

try to come up with a business idea that will adequately address the social problem of dental

hygiene.

The significance of dental hygiene

Maintenance of good dental health is essential even in the maintenance of overall health.

There exist various reasons as to why people should maintain good oral health (Gremler, 2010).

First, as we know prevention is less expensive than cure, it will help save money which could
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have been used to cater for the future dental bills. Having fresh breath is also an advantage which

results from cleaning up the mouth at least twice a day. Oral hygiene also prevents one from gum

diseases. Diseases such as gingivitis which is characterized by gum inflammation caused by

buildups of inscription between the teeth which causes swollen gums (Gremler, 2010). Through

dental hygiene one will be free from a heart attack and other diseases like stroke. This is because

the bacteria which are found in the mouth easily get into the bloodstreams and will make the

individual prone to these diseases (Abdellatif, 2010). It also helps in reducing diabetes. If an

individual has any of the dental diseases, it will be difficult for him to control the glucose in the

blood. Also, it helps to prevent dementia which is said to increase by 33.33% if dental health is

not well checked up.

Business Idea: manufacturing of homemade toothpaste

Bearing in mind that toothpaste is among the requirements for maintaining dental health

hygiene, it will be therefore an idea of creating a small firm to produce a homemade paste that

will be available and sold at affordable prices. The plan will address the problem because the

paste will be available in different quantities that will be easier to purchase by the size of the

pocket. The firm will also be required to select a body that will offer civic education about the

importance of healthy oral health.

Business environment

The concept of business environment refers to the combination of all internal and

external factors that will affect the enterprise operations (Kaplan, 2009). These factors if there

are not well taken care of, they can change the capabilities of a firm to build and maintain

productive customer relationships

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External business environment

The foreign business environment consists of all factors that affect the enterprise from

outside. These factors include the shareholders, government policies, competitors, society and

technology used in the enterprise. These external factors are divided into the micro and macro

environment (Kaplan, 2009). The microenvironment is those factors that will affect the

immediate area of enterprise operations thus affecting the overall performance and the path to

decision making. These factors include related competitors, customers, channels for distribution

and the general public. These are players whose decision will directly affect the wellbeing of the

company. As the importance of this idea is production and selling of a commodity, the company

should, therefore, be ready to adjust these factors in a way that they will result to highest return

as well as solving the existing social problem.

Suppliers play a significant role in ensuring the business is ongoing, and therefore the

firm will try to reduce the risk of depending on a single by keeping multiple suppliers.

Customers are also an essential part of an external micro factor as there are responsible for

buying and using the commodity (Kaplan, 2009). To ensure that the business is firm the firm will

be required to work extra mile to ensure the customer is satisfied. Besides, the firm will also be

competing with the rival to keep and attract more customers. The public is also part of, and they

include; women's association local groups and consumer protection associations. The existence

of these groups is essential as they will be working as watchdogs and will coerce the firm to be

socially responsible.
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Internal business environment

Factors that are found in the internal environment are slightly controllable because the

firm may choose to modify or adjust them to increase the efficiency. However, there are some

internal factors that the firm will be unable to control (Kaplan, 2009). There are various internal

factors.

Value system- it implies the organization ethical beliefs that are used as a guideline for

the achievement of organizational mission and goals. It will be essential to have common believe

and value that is shared among the employee and it will act as a motivating factor toward

success.

Mission and objectives- The guidelines that show the path that a company is willing to

pass are stated in the mission statement whose results are long termed. The firm will aim to

maximize the profit and the wealth of shareholders. Mission will indicate the responsibility of

the firm to the society.

Organization structure- This docket shows the composition of the managing directors,

their professionalism which directly affects the performance of the firm (Kaplan, 2009). For the

firm to be competent and to solve the social problem in the society, it must establish an

organizational structure that is prone to quick decision making.

Organization culture- It is the crucial element that will determine the firm's success.

Organization culture is usually defined by the beliefs and customs that interact within the firm to

come up with social organization. Therefore the firm will be required to adhere to the existing

culture or adjust it in a way that expectations of the firm are met.

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PESTEL analysis

It was formerly known to be PEST analysis. It is usually a framework that is used to

analyze the macro business environment that impacts the firm's performance. This framework is

instrumental, especially when starting a new business (Yüksel, 2012). Therefore it will be of

great importance to take it as a guideline to solve the macro environmental issues. PESTEL

analysis stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and legal factors.

Political factors

These elements mostly measure the extent to which the government if prevailing the

firms in a specific industry. All the influences that are imposed on business by the government

are found here. They include the stability of the government, tax policies, the existing tax level,

controllers of trade and regulations governing competition (Yüksel, 2012). The firm, therefore, is

expected to understand the trend of these factors to remain afloat.

Economic factors

These are defined as determinants of the financial performance. These factors are crucial

especially when starting the business. They include economic growth, rates of exchange,

inflation, the price of unemployment and interest rates. If not well checked, they keep changing,

and they have a long-term impact on the firm's performance.

Social factors

These factors mostly concentrate on the demographic characteristics, values, and norm of

the affected population. These factors include the rate of population growth, statistics of age
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distribution and the cultural barriers that exist in different communities (Yüksel, 2012). These

factors will profoundly affect the marketers of the product who will be targeting different

customers.

Technological factors

These elements will focus on innovating in advance technology to competently carry out

operations and to fit into the competitive environment. They include the rate of automation,

incentives resulting from the technology undertaken, and development and research. These

factors are challenging especially in small developing firm, as it may restrict them from entering

a particular industry or market (Yüksel, 2012). By having this knowledge, the firm will not incur

technology cost which results from the upgrading of technology now and then.

Environmental factors

These factors have recently become forefront and essential due to the increased

inadequacy of raw materials that are needed in the manufacturing industries. Government is

targeting to control pollution and the carbon effluent (Ranjan, 2009). Due to climatic changes,

most firms operation is affected, and the production declines.

Legal factors

These factors are closely related to political considerations, but they incorporate deeper

and more specific laws such as discrimination laws, safety laws which take care of employee's

welfare and copyright and patent law (Yüksel, 2012). These will help us to understand the clear

path we are supposed to follow for the firm to start operating without restriction. The firm is

advised to seek a legal advisor to help understand better.

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Conclusion

It is true that social problem and business are directly related. This is because, whenever

there emerge a social problem which offers negative impacts to the affected group, there is

always a business opportunity which will be compelling towards attaining remedy. Through the

study of the business environment and PESTEL analysis, the manufacture of the homemade

paste will achieve. After the production, the marketers will have done their research to

understand the existing cultural barriers and strategized to solve them.

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References

Abdellatif, H. M., & Burt, B. A. (2010). An epidemiological investigation into the relative

importance of age and oral hygiene status as determinants of periodontitis. Journal of dental

research, 66(1), 13-18.

Darby, M. L., & Walsh, M. (2009). Dental Hygiene-E-Book: Theory and Practice. Elsevier

health sciences.

Gremler, D. D., & Brown, S. W. (2010). Oral hygiene, its nature, importance, and implications.

Advancing service quality: A global perspective, 5, 171-181.

Hickson, D. J., Hinings, C. R., McMillan, C. J., & Schwitter, J. P. (2007). The culture-free

context of organization structure: A tri-national comparison. Sociology, 8(1), 59-80.

Kaplan, R. S., Robert, N. P. D. K. S., Davenport, T. H., Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2009).

Internal and external business environment: How balanced scorecard companies thrive in the

new business environment. Harvard Business Press.

Newton , P. explanation on business analysis criteria. PESTEL analysis model: Theory and

practice. International Journal, 9(54),112

Ranjan, J. (2009). Business intelligence: Concepts, components, techniques and benefits.

Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, 9(1), 60-70.

Yüksel, I. (2012). Developing a multi-criteria decision making model for PESTEL analysis.

International Journal of Business and Management, 7(24), 52.