|  | Middle East Oral Hygiene Advisory Board Discusses Best Oral Care PracticesNov 23, 2009 - 02:43 - WAM Dubai, Nov 23rd, 2009 (WAM) -- The Middle East Oral Hygiene Advisory Board, the region's first working group to unite dental experts from across GCC and Levant countries, held its inaugural meeting in Dubai to focus on the status of oral hygiene and discuss recommendations for best oral hygiene practices.
Dr. Steven Morgano, Chief Academic Officer of Boston University Institute for Dental Research and Education said: "We have established the Middle East Oral Hygiene advisory board to help keep dental services at the forefront of new care initiatives as well as to raise awareness among the population and the dental profession of the importance of daily oral hygiene practices and oral healthcare. In an effort to provide our patients with the high-quality dental care they deserve at every visit, we have tapped the best and the brightest in the field of dentistry from the region." The meeting witnessed a series of presentations that highlighted an increasing prevalence and incidence of hygiene-related, preventable oral diseases in the Middle East such as dental caries and gingivitis. In Saudi Arabia, 45 per cent of the population between the age of 18 to 59 suffer from gingival bleeding, according to statistics revealed by the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Saudi Arabia. Preventable tooth decay, otherwise known as dental caries, is a chronic condition among children and adults in the Middle East. In the UAE alone, the condition is prevalent among more than 80 per cent of the UAE population. The high incidence is impacting a growing burden on dental care services, especially among the emergency facilities.
Professor Sebastian Ciancio, distinguished Service Professor and Chairman in the Department of Periodontics and Endodontics and the Director of the Center for Dental Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, New York, was invited as a keynote speaker to this first meeting. He presented a special session on �Biofilm Dynamics at the Gingival Frontier.' Professor Ciancio emphasized the importance of daily rinsing with antiseptic mouthwashes containing essential oils, which can kill the bacteria in the plaque biofilm and prevent the occurrence of gingivitis and other periodontal diseases.
"We will continue to invite international experts to the board meetings for their wealth of experience that can be communicated to dental practitioners in the Middle East. The advisory board serves as a platform of dialogue and exchange of best practices in dental health among the experts," added Dr. Steven Morgano The Middle East Oral Hygiene Advisory Board members will be meeting regularly to discuss local and regional issues relevant to oral healthcare, share best-practice guidelines, and develop and communicate recommendations to raise the standards of oral healthcare in the region.
Esraa WAM/ESRAA/MN |
|
|  |
