Hope for under served
Community Centre offers hope by focused approach of providing preventive knowledge
via education and treatment to disadvantaged and poor population groups. Community
Centre hopes to play an active role in the following: --
Fluoride exposure
Dental cavities can be prevented by maintaining a constant low level of fluoride
in the oral cavity. Fluoride can be obtained from fluoridated drinking water, salt
and toothpaste, as well as from professionally- applied fluoride or mouth rinse.
In villages fluoridated toothpaste is the only product readily available, and the
beneficial effects of using fluoridated toothpaste for oral health are optimized
if brushing is performed twice a day, using proper brushing technique, because this
maintains a consistent low concentration of fluoride in the oral cavity. Community
Centre will create both awareness plus via our team of volunteer dentist help in
applied fluoride or supervised mouth rinses.
Knowledge & Hygiene Habits
The mass awareness of oral health practices is very low in India, especially in
rural communities which tend to place a low importance on oral hygiene. They were
neither aware of factors that could cause oral health problems nor any preventative
measures that could be taken to prevent oral health issues. Instructional oral health
videos with lessons addressing the consequences and remedial action will be shown
at Community Centre.
Access to Care
In rural India, the dentist to population ratio can be as high as one dentist for
every 250,000 residents, while the ratio is estimated at one dentist to every 10,000
in urban areas. At the same time, 72.2% of the population in India resides in rural
areas. There has been an increase in the number of dental colleges, but only 2%
of dental specialists are trained in community dentistry, the specialization that
would typically practice in rural areas. Community Centre will improve access to
care.
Substance Use
Tobacco is generally accepted to be a harmful substance; its use has been correlated
to numerous diseases, including coronary heart disease, respiratory diseases, diabetes,
ulcers, and many forms of cancer, including oral, lung, kidney and pancreas. Additionally,
it has significant effects on the oral health of users. Tobacco use is associated
with heightened periodontal breakdown, poorer standards of oral health and subsequent
premature tooth loss. In periodontal disease, smoking has been identified as major
risk factor . Chewing tobacco is also a significant risk factor correlated with
gingival inflammation and periodontal disease. Both the use of chewing tobacco and
smoking cigarettes are risk factors in the development of caries. Chewing tobacco
is especially significant, as its contents include a high proportion of sugar. Finally,
tobacco use is highly correlated with the presence of oral cancer, with 95% of oral
cancers directly related to tobacco use. The use of tobacco has a clear impact on
a person’s oral health status.
There is also evidence of a correlation between alcohol use and dental caries. Daily
alcohol consumption was positively associated with dental decay and the presence
of more calculus as compared to non- consumers.