President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday said that as curative dentistry had more financial implications, particularly for a developing country like Pakistan, dentists should think out of the box to promote preventive dentistry through public awareness of oral hygiene. The president, addressing the inaugural ceremony of the International Oral Pathology and Aesthetic Dentistry Conference in the federal capital, said preventive healthcare was more important as tertiary care was costlier and unaffordable for Pakistan.
Urging the participants comprising oral pathologists, dentists, professors and students, he said that regular brushing of teeth provided almost 99% of prevention from oral diseases. He said Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) also taught the frequent use of Miswak as had been evident from around 20 Ahadith.
The president, also a renowned dentist, shared the success stories of his career in dentistry which marked massive awareness campaigns on oral health which created a win-win situation for both the private partners as well as the field of dentistry. Highlighting the importance of dentistry, he urged dentists to establish their collaboration with the people to promote oral hygiene and recalled the successful oral hygiene campaign run during the COVID-19 pandemic in collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders.
He said the professional dentists needed to reorient their approach as the quantum of preventive healthcare in their education was not as required. They should broaden their narrow focus to help people achieve prevention against oral diseases, he added. He said the professionals would have to change their paradigm for the maximum benefit of the people to pay back the huge financing made by the country on their higher education. The president, who earlier also inaugurated the first oral cancer registry, said after oral hygiene, the focus should on the prevention of oral cancer. He advised against the use and sale of betel and other relevant addictive items leading to oral cancer.
The event marked the start of the 2nd International Conference on Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. The Conference is a collaborative event that also includes First International Dental Laser Conference. On the occasion, the president also launched the Pakistan Federation of Laser Dentistry and distributed shields among the organisers and collaborators of the conference. Earlier, in her address, President of Pakistan Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (PSOMP) Federal Zone Dr Joharia Azhar said Pakistan was among very few countries where there was no oral cancer registry. She also highlighted the need for body of laser dentistry considering the new trends and innovations in the field. She said the oral cancer registry would help maintain the data of the disease in the country besides establishing collaboration with the partners to broaden the network President PSOMP Nauman Rauf said the conference would help broaden the network of professionals to help them embrace the vision of innovations in the field.