KARACHI: Oral health promotion is for the upliftment of oral health for the community rather than one individual and has long‐term impact; it is advocated for disadvantaged and especially-abled population where resources and manpower is limited.
In the light of this, free dental checkup and interactive oral health awareness session was arranged at Silver Line School for Blind & Deaf recently. The BUDC Health Care Professional (HCP) team participated in the activity. The team comprised of Prof Kulsoom Fatima Rizvi (Vice-Principal & Head of Community Dentistry Department), Dr Maria Moin & Dr Arqam Najmi as Assistant Professors, Dr Mohsin Haider as Senior Lecturer, Dr Aimen Imran, Dr Aymen Sultan, Dr Hareem Raza , Dr Tooba Rauf & Dr Saleha as House Officers.
The BUDC team was cordially greeted by the school principal. The target audience consists of 60 students with 40 deaf and 20 visually impaired children falling in the age range of 4 to 15 years. The dentists were made to sit in a hall and students of different classes approached them.
The Dental checkup was carried out by house officers, supervised by faculty members. The children were accompanied by their teachers who made students understand the performa questions and assisted the dental examination.
The deaf children were taught about brushing technique on tooth models and information related to healthy and unhealthy food through interactive session while visually impaired children were given interactive session utilizing audio methods involving stories & poems.
The lively interaction was filled with fun and entertainment keeping in view the concern of especially abled population and age of the recipients. Dental checkup was provided to all children and the oral health condition was recorded on validated WHO forms. The dental team used proper sterilization and cross infection protocols. Children were also provided oral hygiene kits at the end of the program as an incentive sponsored by Colgate Pakistan.
The overall oral condition of these especially abled children was considered fair. The School Principal and staff members were very pleased with the Oral Health activity at their school and had their queries and problems addressed. The BUDC team looks forwards to conduct more of such oral health education and promotional awareness sessions. It was a good learning experience for both the school and the dental team at both ends.