The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers caries, periodontal diseases, loss of teeth, oral cancers and trauma as major causes of health burdens. Dental cavities can be found in 60-90 per cent of children of school-going age. Not only is there an alarmingly high prevalence of dental disorders worldwide, but there is also sufficient evidence to suggest that the benefits of the current interventions aimed at reducing this burden are not reaching the populations at risk.
In similarity with the global trend, surveys in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also revealed a startlingly high prevalence of various dental diseases. Surveys have revealed that 83 per cent of children aged five years are affected by caries, and 52 per cent have four or more decayed, missing or filled teeth (DMFT). In a study conducted in Abu Dhabi, an Emirate within the UAE, the mean DMFT score was recorded at 8.4, 8.6, and 5.7 for children aged five years in various regions of the Emirate. The latest study focusing on the Emirate of Dubai shows similar high numbers, with caries prevalent in 65 per cent of five-year-olds. 10 per cent of these children have more than five teeth with untreated caries. Data from these studies highly suggests that there is an urgent need for action to counter the widespread dental diseases in the UAE.
The WHO has suggested a number of cost-effective and holistic interventions to counter the increasing prevalence of dental diseases.
Preschools and schools provide an important base to promote oral health as they reach large numbers of students who pass on these messages to their families. Schools can make substantial contributions to students’ health and well-being. This has been increasingly recognised by many international initiatives including those from the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and UNESCO. This means that the oral health messages reinforced in schools will eventually reach the whole community. The early years of a child’s life are the most influential in reinforcing habits and attitudes, therefore teaching the students at this age about proper oral health habits will have a lifelong effect. They will be healthier and more productive individuals in their community, having better quality of life with a potential to long term cost saving.
To eliminate dental problems, one must follow a tripod approach of education, prevention and availability of oral health care.
The New York University Abu Dhabi Public Health Think Tank (PHTT) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary and locally engaged initiative, designed to catalyse public health innovation in and beyond the United Arab Emirates. This year, the PHTT concentrated on oral health in an immersive, two-day event where delegates planned an oral health intervention alongside students from across the UAE, and received lectures and guidance from leading public health professionals.
The winning team (Team Ras Al Khaimah) proposed a project with the aim to decrease the prevalence of caries in children across the UAE by increasing oral health awareness and constant reinforcement through the incorporation of oral health into the moral education curriculum within public schools. To implement this intervention, a pilot study will be conducted on schoolchildren from Grade 1 until they reach Grade 6 (from 2018 to 2024). The group chosen will be educated each year within the pilot program on multiple levels of dental health awareness, and the results of their decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) will be collected after six years. When comparing these results to the DMFT data of previous sixth graders who were not exposed to the oral health education program, an improvement is expected, which will prove the effectiveness of the intervention. The oral health program will then hopefully be implemented into the moral education curriculum in schools across the UAE. The intervention is essential because, at present, there are few pre-existing long-term curricula on oral health. It will also provide reinforcement, which is key for children to break free from unhealthy socio-cultural norms, such as tobacco usage. This intervention also capitalises on resources already available by implementing education through pre-existing jobs while preventing the onset of caries, thereby reducing government expenditure in the long-run.
The intervention was recently presented in the Dubai Youth Hub as a prototype with the participation of students from Dubai Modern Education Private School. Feedback collected from students and their parents who attended has shown promising results.
For further information on the project, please visit http://2017.phtt.org/
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