Dr Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani (second left), Director of the Department of Public Health, with other officials during the launch of ‘Month of Oral and Dental Health Awareness’ held at the Ministry of Public Health, yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit / Th
Doha: In a new initiative to contain high prevalence of oral and dental health problems among children, a comprehensive nationwide campaign has been launched by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).
The month-long campaign aims to help reaching the national goal to reduce the prevalence of dental caries among children under five years of age by 25% by 2022 and in line with the National Health Strategy 2018-2022, said officials during the launch of the campaign held at MoPH, yesterday.
The Ministry will implement the campaign ‘Month of Oral and Dental Health Awareness’ in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) and the National Oral Health Committee. It will spread the awareness message at private and public schools.
“Qatar has a significant burden of oral and dental health problems. Statistics show that 88 percent of Qatari children and 61% non-Qatari children aged 6 years have tooth carries. Through the campaign we will reach children, adolescents at schools and educate them on how to take care of their teeth. We will also educate the mothers, as they can play a major role in their child’s dental health,” said Dr Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of the Public Health Department, MoPH.
As part of the campaign young school students from different schools will be invited to the MoPH thrice a week and taught about oral and dental health. Each day around 200 stduenst from four schools will be invited for the awareness activities. Awareness activities will be also held across healthcare facilities of PHCC and HMC.
“There are many activities being held under the guidance of National Oral Health Committee under the MoPH to address the burden of oral health problems. The activities of the ‘Month of Oral and Dental Health Awareness’ will be overseen by the National Oral Health Committee. The main message that we are trying to convey during the month-long activities is that good oral health is important for everyone. Not taking care of teeth and gums can lead to serious pain, that effects your physical, mental and social wellbeing,” said Dr Wafa Al Mulla, Specialist, Dental and Oral Health, Public Health Department, MoPH.
