Dubai: Most school children in Dubai suffer from poor dental health, a survey conducted by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) revealed.
The survey screened 5,617 students in the age group of 5-7 years, 12-15 years and 15-17 years from 47 public and private schools across Dubai as per criteria established by the World Health Organisation.
The survey created the Decay-Missing-Filled Teeth (DMFT) index, which is one of the most common methods in oral epidemiology for assessing the prevalence of dental caries.
Revealing the results on the sidelines of the 19th UAE International Dental Conference and Arab Dental Exhibition, Dr Hamda Al Mesmar, director of Dental Health Services at DHA said: “In terms of the periodontal condition of Dubai school children, 80 per cent of children in the age group of 12-15 years have gingival problems [unhealthy gums] and 57 per cent in the age group of 15-17 years have unhealthy gums.”
While 93 per cent of children in all age groups showed no signs of fluorosis, which is caused by over-exposure to fluorides, she added: “The DMFT index among of Dubai children population is in the range of 3.8. We aim to bring it down to 0.6 in the next three to five years.”
The DHA plans to educate parents and school authorities about improving oral health.
“We will educate staff nurses in schools to carry out periodic dental checks on children and create awareness. We will deploy mobile dental vans to implement the prophylactic programme so that helps goes to affected children instead of them coming to us,” Dr Al Mesmar said.
The Eisa Al Maidour, director-general of DHA, said: “Such surveys are vital because we can base our policies on evidence-based data and benchmark ourselves internationally. This research provides us with information about the current level of oral health care among school children in Dubai. We will base our oral health care policies and preventative programmes in accordance with the results of the survey.”
