Saudi Gazette The mouth is the gateway to the body, and to maintain your health and beautiful personality, take care of your teeth and mouth. Quite obviously, we don't want a set of dirty, yellow teeth every time we flash a smile at others and make them feel awkward when they talk to us. To help spread awareness about the importance of oral health and its relation to the health of the whole body, Kingdom and its neighboring Gulf countries participated in many such public awareness campaigns. Dental health awareness campaigns are organized to help reduce the rate of tooth decay among children and to educate parents and children that the health of their teeth and mouth affects their mental, physical, emotional, and social health as well. Healthy teeth are essential for speech, correct pronunciation, chewing food, and obtaining adequate nutrition. A pearly set of uniformed teeth enhances the beauty of the face, and tooth loss in adults will have a profound negative psychological impact. Dr. Muhammad Byari, dean of the faculty of dentistry at Umm Al-Qura University, said that the incidence of tooth decay in young children is rising in the Kingdom. According to a study, tooth decay in Jeddah, now, has increased to 96 percent as compared to 74 percent in the year 2008. Currently, the Kingdom has the highest rate of tooth decay in the world, and treating it would definitely put a strain on nation's yearly budget. “Bacterial infections that affect teeth and gums are probably the greatest threat to a healthy mouth. Lack of oral hygiene does not only cause cavities but also allows bacteria to accumulate around the gums leading to gingivitis or more severe gum disease which may be difficult and time consuming to treat,” said Dr. Anto Youssef. Educating the public about daily brushing your teeth, using dental floss, and encouraging regular dentist checkups may not be enough to curb the occurrence of dental caries. “Regulating the amount of fluoride in public drinking water may be the most effective, practical, and affordable solution to preventing tooth decay in the society. Adding fluoride to drinking water is useful for fighting dental caries, but the amount added must be closely controlled. Drinking fluoridated water with one part fluoride per one million parts water can reduce the chances of tooth decay by 50 percent. “However, drinking water that has slightly over one and a half parts fluoride added to one million parts water may leave stains or specks on the tooth enamel, a condition known as dental fluorosis. Such fluoride supplementation, in addition to proper dental hygiene and adequate nutrition, can sharply decrease the rate of tooth decay in the Kingdom and ease the financial burden on dental care expenses,” said Dr. Byari. The problem of prevention and treatment of tooth decay needs to be addressed from another angle as well, which is the ratio of dentists to the general population. “According to a survey conducted by the World Health Organization in the year 2010, there were 6,049 dentists working in the Kingdom. That means that there are only two dentists for every 10,000 individuals in the country, which demonstrates an insufficient number of dentists to meet the dental health of the population. Moreover, only 57 percent of healthcare centers in the Kingdom have dental clinics. That is why preventive efforts must be multiplied,” said Dr. Byari. Schools are the best place to start the dental health awareness campaign and dental students should regularly visit schools to timely educate them about dental care. “Visiting schools to inspect the children's teeth and show students how to correctly brush their teeth is essential in fighting tooth decay in the Kingdom. The visitor should be friendly, possibly dressed up as their favorite television character, and offer simple gifts to break the barrier of fear between young children and the dentist. “School administrators should organize an art contest on the best drawing or painting that depicts the message of caring for the teeth. I also suggest that prominent media outlets offer prizes and awards for journalists who write the best article or design the best infomercial on dental health. Distribution of informational leaflets and free toothbrushes and toothpaste at shopping malls is always well received and appreciated by shoppers,” Dr. Byari said. Ideally, children and adults should go to the dentist for a regular checkup every six months. Most of us are unaware of the problems that a dentist may discover just by examining our teeth and mouth. “Dentists can identify signs and symptoms of more than 120 diseases just by looking in your mouth. When most people think of diseases identified by a dentist, oral cancer, gum disease and cavities generally come to mind. However, dentists can also detect things like acid reflux, diabetes, kidney failure, anemia and osteoporosis during a regular dental exam,” said Dr. Jed Jacobson, periodontal specialist at Delta Dental. Henceforth, to look beautiful and feel wonderful, make it a point to visit the dentist regularly instead of waiting for a problem to arise, for then you will have to make countless trips to the dentist for its treatment, not to mention the unbearable pain and high treatment costs you will have to endure. __
