KARACHI: Department of Community Dentistry at Dow Dental College (DDC) recently arranged an oral health promotion visit to Government Boys Secondary School Kotwal building (GBSS).
Community outreach programs to primary and secondary schools are a great way to educate and engage youth on the importance of oral hygiene practices. In pursuit of this goal, forty-eight third-year dental students from DDC visited GBSS under the supervision of Dr Muhammad Taqi, Assistant Professor, DDC, Dr Adnan Sukkarwallah, Assistant Professor, DDC, Dr Babar Zia, Dr Mona Shah and Dr Amber Saeed.
This visit aimed to screen and spread oral hygiene awareness among school children aged 11-14 years. Children received intra-oral examination, and their subsequent dental disease profile was documented, including dental caries, staining, and calculus. They were mainly educated on developing healthy oral hygiene practices such as regular dental checkups, tooth brushing and flossing, and correct techniques. Additionally, a dental kit was given to each child to encourage the implementation of the aforementioned oral hygiene skills.
School visits have been a simple, accessible, and effective way to introduce oral health education, which in turn helped develop healthy habits within the community from an early age. Conducting regular visits help reduce the overall cost of dental care and dentistry-related morbidities.