Daily Times

KARACHI: Dental hygiene is a new concept in Pakistan and in many countries of the developing world it is still unknown. There are approximately 40,000 non-qualified dental practitioners in Pakistan. The dentist to population ratio in the country is 1:1,305,811, whereas according to World Health Organisation (WHO), the recommended ratio is 1:75,000 for developing countries.

These facts were stated by health experts at ‘Role of Dentists and Value of Dental Hygienists’ workshop held in the city on Saturday. The Aga Khan University hosted the event in which leading dental practitioners, academics and students of dentistry attended a series of talks.

Speakers said that in the early 1980’s street-side quacks used to extract teeth and fit dentures. “There was no concept of infection control and sterilization. Diseases such as Hepatitis B, C, and HIV Aids were transmitted easily amongst patients. In some places, this is still the case,” said AKU president Firoz Rasul.

“The overall disease burden in developing countries is higher than the developed world. Prevention is not understood and the value of dental hygiene in the relevance to general health is certainly not understood,” noted Dr Saida Rasul, the associate director for the AKU’s Associate of Science degree programme in Dental Hygiene. “Diseases are treated on an ad hoc basis. Comprehensive care is not practiced. Diseases such as cavities, gingivitis, periodontal disease, oral cancers, and diabetes are rampant in the population.”

“Dental hygienists play an integral role as preventive health practitioners. With the prevalence of head and neck cancers in Pakistan, this checkup with dental hygienists an detect cancers earlier and improves the patient’s quality of life,” Dr Sabrina Heglund, the director of the Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene programme.

AKUH CEO Hans Kidzierski said with its mission to respond to the current needs of the countries where it operates through quality education, The Aga Khan University Medical College launched a two-year Diploma in Dental Hygiene programme in 2015. To date, AKU has graduated 22 dental hygienists from the programme. “They are highly specialised and have undergone rigorous education in dental hygiene theory, dental hygiene skills lab, preclinical and clinical practices as well as community health and outreach under the best faculty at the Dentistry at the Medical College. The AKU now offers a two-year Associate of Science degree in Dental Hygiene that is recognised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. AKU’s applicant pool for this programme is from Pakistan, Uganda, Kenya, North America and students undergo rigorous training as well as community work in low-income areas in Karachi and beyond to raise awareness about dental hygiene. AKU is committed to its work in public health in dental care around the world,” said a statement released on the occasion.

“Research shows that there is a close connection between pregnant mothers’ oral health and low birth-weight in newborn children as well as pre-term babies with continued health issues into adult life. Research also shows the prevalence of heart disease and stroke correlated to bad oral hygiene. Diseases such as diabetes, oral cancers, stomach reflux issues – all can be or should be able to be diagnosed in the mouth by a well trained practitioner,” it added.

“Speakers discussed how by including dental hygienists into dental practice, dentists can increase the revenue of the practice by having dental hygienists focus on providing oral health counselling, do thorough dental check-ups that can detect serious diseases, conduct smoking cessation clinics, while dentists can focus on more complex procedures. This will make oral healthcare accessible to more people.

“Dental hygienists can play a leading role in eradicating systemic diseases leading to longevity of life and better quality of life for the population. They can be employed in hospitals, community health centres, schools, palliative care situations and in academia.”

Published in Daily Times, August 5^th 2018.