Dubai: Several workers in the labour force suffer from periodontal disease, poor oral hygiene and give low priority to their dental health as they are unable to afford dental treatment.
However, the Hamdan Bin Mohammad College of Dental Medicine (HBMCDM) changed this by providing free oral hygiene screening and treatment to workers. As part of the first phase of their oral hygiene initiative, the college completed oral health screening of 700 workers in 14 screening sessions until July 31.
The initiative that was announced in May 2015 by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, will cover screening and treatment for nearly 2,000 workers by the end of the year and is being conducted in collaboration with the Permanent Committee for Labour Affairs (PCLA) in Dubai, and the Dubai Dental Clinic (DDC).
As per the clinical data collected after informed consent from 700 male workers screened, the majority — close to 500 — were referred to a dental hygienist for scaling to remove dental plaque and tartar (calculus) and for oral hygiene instruction on how to care for teeth and gum tissue.
Over 350 were diagnosed with tooth decay (dental caries) that required fillings, and 100 had extensive caries, requiring root canal therapy.
Gum (periodontal) disease was common and diagnosed in close to 300 workers who needed periodontal assessment and therapy.
Severe dental problems were found in 250 workers who required dental extraction whereas close to 200 workers had missing teeth requiring fixed or removable dental prostheses.
The screenings under the Oral Hygiene Initiative include dental checks, and oral hygiene instructions. Screenings are conducted by a team comprising faculty, residents and dental hygienists, along with dental assistants and administrative staff.
Commenting on the initiative’s success, Saif Bin Markhan Al Ketbi, Director-General, Office of the Crown Prince of Dubai, said, “Together with our stakeholders, we will ensure that workers, too, can benefit from oral treatment that can be prohibitively expensive.”
Al Ketbi extended praise and gratitude to Shaikh Hamdan for launching this unique humanitarian initiative to make Dubai one of the happiest cities in the world. He said, “We are comitted to achieving our goal of screening more than 2,000 workers. In addition, the visits by the clinical teams to various camps have been an effective method to improve overall oral hygiene standards in Dubai.”
Raja Al Gurg, Vice Chairperon and Executive Director of Dubai Health Care Authority, said: “It is an honour to be entrusted with the responsibility to help improve the health status of workers.” She added: “An ethical responsibility of the health-care profession is public welfare, and the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Oral Hygiene Initiative provides access to specialised dental treatment to an important section of our society.”
Dr Amer Ahmad Sharif, Managing Director - Education, Dubai Health care City, explained that dentists pursuing postgraduate programmes at the Hamdan Bin Mohammad College of Dental Medicine, the first college of the Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBR-UMHS), demonstrate the need for dental specialisation. “It [dental specialisation] broadens the understanding of not only clinical expertise but of social issues related to the general health and well-being of our community,” he said.
Major General Obaid Muhair Bin Surour, Chairman, Permanent Committee of Labour Affairs in Dubai, said, “By targeting the needs of people from this community, we are hoping to increase the levels of oral health. It is the ongoing mission of the committee to support awareness campaigns for workers’ safety, health and rights.”
