New Delhi: Underlining that oral diseases pose a major threat to public health, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said that they have become leading health problems resulting from tobacco use, alcohol and changing life style. Inaugurating the FDI Annual World Dental Congress hosted by the Indian Dental Association at Greater Noida, Mukherjee said that most people are ignorant of the significance of oral health and its impact on general health.
"The standards of oral and dental health are challenging in this subcontinent. Most people are ignorant of the significance of oral health and its impact on general health. Oral diseases and tooth decay were considered a part of the ageing process and ignored by a large number of people," he said at the function.
Mukherjee complimented FDI and the United Nations for recognition of oral diseases as a part of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer, on account of their sharing certain common risk factors.
"What we need today in India is an Oral Health Revolution similar to the Green Revolution and White Revolution," the President said. He said that dental caries affect 60-80 per cent of our children and periodontal (gum) disease affect nearly 90-95 per cent of the population.
The President also highlighted surge in oral cancer cases in the country with tobacco use being the leading cause behind the fatal disease. "Dentists often are the first to detect any pre-cancerous lesions in the mouth. I am informed that IDA has set up an Oral Cancer Foundation for early detection and treatment of oral cancer along with Tobacco Intervention Initiative for tobacco cessation," he said.
Mukherjee said that an Oral Cancer Registry has also been set up to register exclusively oral cancer cases. The President said that there is a need to sensitize school children about the basic needs of oral healthcare with an emphasis on general health.
"Regular dental check-up camps at schools, which IDA has been organizing, will spread awareness of oral health and hygiene. IDA must work out with the school authorities to reach the maximum number of schools for preventive oral healthcare amongst the school children," he said. The President said with the spread of information about the diseases among patients and their expectations bring a challenge before the professional capabilities of healthcare service providers.
"To meet these expectations, you need to devise methodology to deliver comfortable and affordable dental care to the community and adopt innovative procedures and technology," he said. The President said the use of information technology and digitalisation of patient records have given a new dimension to oral healthcare.
"Latest technologies have significantly improved diagnostic quality, patient comfort and efficiency in dental care. Healthcare is under digital transformation and it is redefining virtually every aspect of clinical practice and related business activity," he said. The President said that IDA must work out how the young population of the country can be utilised by skilling more number of people in oral healthcare sector with the twin purpose of generating the employment as well as creating access of quality oral healthcare to over 1.2 billion population of this country.
Comments
0 comment