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Federal intervention sought for preventive dental care

While calling for the inclusion of dental check-ups in the government backed pre-marital tests for local couples, Dr Aisha Sultan, Head of Dubai Dental Services and Northern Emirates Services, Ministry of Health said in an interview that ‘there was not enough belief’ in preventive programmes among the higher authorities.

“We are spending millions in curative programmes but are completely ignoring the preventive side which can save money and also create resources for hundreds of jobless dentists,” she said.

Big numbers

“Implementation of these programmes costs less than half of the present budget.”

Hundreds of dentists, both UAE nationals and expatriates, graduate every year from four schools in Sharjah and Ajman but only a handful are accommodated in the ministry-run dental centres.

Dr Aisha Sultan said that low salaries were also a deterrent for many professionals. “A new dental graduate is offered Dh7,000 at the ministry while a hygienist is offered only Dh3,000.”

She also said that Bahrain in 1985 had implemented a programme for hygienists and educated them for preventive programmes in big numbers. “This is what we need here. We should shift our focus and deploy more human resources in rural areas where oral hygiene is mostly neglected due to low public awareness,” said Dr Sultan who spent 30 years of her career with the 
ministry.

Hygiene test

Focusing on schools in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, the ministry’s programmes ensure that children belonging to the age group of 3-5 years have regular oral hygiene tests done. “We check for the type of oral diseases and under the current programmes, apply free sealants to clean and healthy teeth to prevent dental caries,” said Dr Sultan, who is also a board member of the Middle East Oral Hygiene Advisory Board.

“Caries is rampant among children in the country,” she said. According to the ministry’s statistics for 2003, children in Fujairah had the highest number of periodontal disease while those in Ajman had the lowest incidence.

However, fluoridation of water remains a debatable issue among authorities in the country with no clear policies emerging on its use.

“The ministry had implemented a programme in schools some years ago by daily administering fluoride tablets to children but stopped later since parents had no will to follow it,” she said. According to the dentist, lack of oral hygiene indirectly affects an individual’s health. “Studies say bacteria from a dirty mouth can cause even diabetes and heart disease,” she said.

The Middle East Oral Hygiene Advisory Board, the first working group to unite dental experts from the GCC and Levant region, recently held its second meeting that outlined challenges to good oral health.

Brushing twice per day remains a challenge with inadequate time spent on brushing and lack of knowledge on the appropriate brushing and flossing process, resulting in failure to reach the remote areas around the posterior teeth, discussed the experts.

“Also the habit of brushing alone is not adequate to ensure a high level of oral hygiene and oral healthcare, because tooth surfaces only comprise 25 per cent of oral surface areas exposed to bacteria, the remaining 75 per cent is found on oral mucosal surfaces,” 
they said.

Preventative care

International expert Prof Antonio Carrassi, Dean of the Dental School of the University of Milan and Chairman of the Unit of Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Geriatric Dentistry at the Hospital San Paolo of Milan said, “We aim to convey the significance of oral hygiene and preventative care, which is not only dependent on the motivation and attitude of the patient, but also on appropriate guidance relative to a daily oral hygiene regimen communicated by the practitioners who play a major role in raising awareness and educating the general public.”

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE