Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition

News DENTALTRIBUNE Middle East & Africa Edition ABU DHABI: Dental decay is a problem that 16,505 of the 25,778 (64 per cent) capital stu- dents suffer from, a recent sur- vey has revealed. The Ambulatory Healthcare Services (AHS) - SEHA, in coop- eration with the Abu Dhabi Edu- cation Council (ADEC), carried out a campaign in public schools in Abu Dhabi, testing students from grade 1, grade 5, and grade nine. The comprehensive preven- tive examination for students in- cluded a clinical exam tests for BMI, CBC, vision, hearing, scol- iosis and dental/oral health. Discussing key oral hygiene aspects, Dr N Serah George pointed out, “You would be sur- prised to know that in some fam- ilies the toothbrush is shared amongthefamilymembers.This should be a complete no-no.” “Once in every three months people should also change their toothbrush. However, in case the person has suffered from a fever, it should be changed right after they get better and have com- pleted the medication course.” According to her, adults should change their toothbrush every three to four months while children may need to get new toothbrushes more frequently. “The toothbrush should be replaced when the bristles show signs of wear. It is important to change it often because it holds within its bristles food particles which were once in your teeth,” she added. Dr George noted that chil- dren should be taught at a young age the importance of brushing their teeth after meals. “Oral hy- giene remains a significant health challenge, which needs to be taken seriously by both care providers and patients.” “Brushing twice per day re- mains a challenge. Inadequate time spent on brushing and lack of knowledge on the appropriate brushing and flossing process further results in failure to reach remote areas around the poste- rior teeth.” After the health exams have been carried out, plans are being developed to include students from all levels in both public and private schools in the campaign, based The campaign has been a success and plans are currently beingdevelopedtoonthecriteria determined by the Health Au- thority - Abu Dhabi. A study has also been carried out to introduce the electronic health files in public school clin- ics, tying the school clinics to the Seha network. This step will pro- videtheschoolnursewithaccess to the latest updates regarding the student’s medical issues, tests, and results. DT 2 DENTAL TRIBUNE The World’s Dental Newspaper · Middle East & Africa Edition Published by Education Zone in licence of Dental Tribune International GmbH © 2011, Dental Tribune International GmbH. All rights reserved. Dental Tribune makes every effort to report clinical information and manu- facturer’s product news accurately, but cannot assume responsibility for the validityofproductclaims,orfortypographicalerrors.Thepublishersalsodo not assume responsibility for product names or claims, or statements made by advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and may not re- flect those of Dental Tribune International. Editorial Board Prof. Abdullah Al-Shammary, Restorative Dentistry, KSA Prof. Hussain F. Al Huwaizi, Endodontics, Iraq Prof. Samar Burgan, Oral Medicine, Jordan Dr. Abdel Salam Al Askary, Implantology, Egypt Dr. Talal Al-Harbi, Orthodontist, Qatar Dr. Mohammed H. Al Jishi, Bahrain Dr. Lara Bakaeen, Prosthodontist , Jordan Dr. Aisha Sultan, Periodontist, UAE Dr. Kamal Balaghi Mobin Aesthetics, Iran President/CEO Yasir Allawi y.allawi@dental-tribune.ae Director mCME: Dr. D. Mollova info@cappmea.com Marketing manager Khawla Najib khawla@dental-tribune.ae Production manager Hussain Alvi dentalme@dental-tribune.ae PO Box 214592, Dubai, UAE, Tel + 971 4 391 0257 Fax + 971 4 366 4512 www.dental-tribune.com AD 64% Abu Dhabi students suffer dental decay: Study