Doha, Qatar: In cooperation with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has launched an awareness campaign aimed at raising awareness about the importance of oral and dental care.
The campaign includes awareness about positive habits, current oral and dental services in the community, and the importance of enhancing communication between dental services and prevention departments in various medical facilities with different sectors of society.
The campaign is targeting all segments of society such as children, adolescents, adults and pregnant women in terms of guiding them to follow a healthy and balanced diet.
In cooperation with its partners, MoPH also participates in encouraging all members of society to adopt healthy lifestyles from earlier age and reduce the spread of dental caries, in addition to change wrong behaviours towards oral and dental health care.
The launch of the campaign comes within the framework of the celebration of the World Oral Health Day, which is observed annually on March 20, under the theme ‘A happy mouth is a happy body,’ in addition to participating in the GCC Oral Health Unified Week from March 25-31.
Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of the NCDs Prevention Programmes at MoPH, said that the ministry is keen to implement a number of programmes and courses aimed at preventing oral diseases, pointing to the launch of health care programme for the elderly last year, which targeted the medical staff concerned with the care of the elderly. He said MoPH will continue to implement such programs that support such a group and all segments of society.
Dr. Wafaa Al Mulla, Oral and Dental Health Specialist at MoPH and official in charge of promotion and prevention at the National Oral and Dental Health Committee, said that through the campaign launched by the Ministry, educational awareness publications on oral and dental health will be published via all social media accounts of the Ministry of Public Health and social platforms of health sector partners, since that is considered as a part of the outputs of the National Oral and Dental Health Committee with the participation of Hamad Medical Corporation and Primary Health Care Corporation.
Dr. Al Mulla added that in alignment with the GCC Oral Health Unified Week from March 25 to 31 and in collaboration with HMC, PHCC and health entities in Qatar, the Ministry began implementing the national oral and dental health survey for young students aged 12 to 16 years and above from February, until the end of this year. The survey aims to determine the level and quality of oral health information and its sources among parents and participating students as well as to determine the level of tooth decay among school students.
