Dental care for children needs serious attention

KARACHI: “Developing countries such as Pakistan has a high burden of common dental diseases like tooth decay and periodontal disease. Children are largely affected with dental problems due to their dietary habits. A better oral hygiene can prevent common dental and oral problems. Awareness regarding preventive strategies would be a cost effective of way reducing the burden of dental diseases.”

Dr. Farhan Raza Khan, Consultant, Operative Dentistry Service Line Chief of Dental Clinics, and Head of the Dental Section, AKU, expressed these views at the 41st public awareness seminar on “Common Dental Problems and their Prevention,” held at the seminar room of Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi (UoK) here on Wednesday. PCMD, University of Karachi and Virtual Education Project Pakistan (VEPP) jointly organised the seminar.

Dr. Khan said that dental problems such as tooth decay and periodontal disease are prevalent worldwide. He pointed out that most of the registered dentists prefer to work in the big cities, a very small proportion of qualified dentists are available to serve the under developed areas of the country.

He said that lack of awareness regarding oral hygiene, dearth of resources and the high cost of the treatment make the dental treatment inaccessible to a big fraction of our population.

Some of the most common dental problems are tooth decay, gum disease, tooth wear, congenital dental problem, misaligned, missing teeth, wisdom tooth, oral mucosal problem, cysts and tumours of oral cavity etc, he mentioned.

He said that the use of cola drinks and carbohydrate-based foods should be reduced for the protection of the teeth, while consumption of vegetable and fruits are good for teeth health.

Talking about the efficacy of Root Canal Treatment (RCT), he said that around 95 per cent of RCT result was success, while 50 to 66 per cent cases of re-treatment were also successful. He rejected the common myths about dental procedures such as root canal treatment, scaling, crowns and implants.

He said that bad dietary habits is the major cause of dental problems among children in Pakistan, while lack of regular dental care, low socio-economic status, low level of parental education and radiation treatment are of some major causes of dental diseases in Pakistan.

Dr. Khan highlighted the importance of the technique to brush the teeth as regular brushing of teeth with at least two to three minutes is vital for teeth and gum protection.

He said that proper brushing takes at least two to three minutes, which can help prevent most dental problems.