Dental Public Health in The Africa/Middle East Region

Description

Oral diseases are a universal public health problem with serious health and economic burdens (World Health Organization, 2022). As it is well known, untreated tooth decay destroys tooth crowns and is often accompanied by severe pain, absence from school, eating difficulties, the risk for delayed physical growth and development, increased days with restricted activity, and diminished oral health-related quality of life (World Health Organization, 2019, Abuhaloob and Petersen, 2021). Likewise, in African and Middle Eastern countries, different studies have pointed to the high burden of oral diseases that resulted from the rapid increase in oral health-related diseases and associated risk factors (Morgano et al., 2010, Elamin et al., 2021, Khan, 2014, Alraqiq et al., 2021).

Fortunately, oral diseases - mainly dental caries - are preventable (World Health Organization, 2019). However, low and middle-income- and high-income countries are still struggling to establish effective oral health prevention programs locally and regionally. The barriers associated with establishing effective oral health prevention programs include a lack of decision-makers awareness and support of dental public health development and oral health care prevention initiatives. This stems from the unavailability of a standardized national dental public health strategy to inform how to assess dental health status and build evidence for the most effective oral and dental care preventive intervention.

Dental public health science is the art of diagnosing and controlling oral disease and promoting oral health through community prevention efforts (Galagan, 1962). This definition highlights the importance of diagnosing dental diseases and identifying relevant risk factors before planning community prevention programs. Unfortunately, the education and practice of dental public health science are extremely rare in the Africa/Middle East Region (AMER).

Learning Objectives:

  1. To provide an overview of oral health diseases and associated risk factors in Africa/Middle East countries
  2. To present and discuss current strategies to tackle growing dental caries, periodontitis and associated oral health inequalities in these countries
  3. To appraise dental public health education role in academia and practice in these countries
  4. To recommend approaches for dental public education in AMER to address the current challenges
  5. To identify approaches for reforming national and regional dental care prevention in AMER

Sponsored by:

Oral Health Research Group

Financial Interest Disclosure: None

Open to all IADR members

Contributors

  • Maha El Tantawi

    Alexandria Univ., Egypt

    Maha El Tantawi is Professor of Dental Public Health at the Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Egypt. Maha has been teaching biostatistics, research design and evidence-based dentistry to undergraduate and postgraduate dental and medical students in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Maha’s research interests include global oral health, social determinants of health, dental workforce issues, dental education, e-learning and e-assessment. Maha has published more than 150 papers in international journals and several book chapters and is part of several international research groups. She is a Senior Editorial Board Member with BMC Oral Health and a member of the editorial board of PeerJ and Frontiers in Oral Health.

  • Morenike Oluwatoyin Ukpong

    Obafemi Awolowo Univ, Nigeria

    I am a Professor of Paediatric Dentistry at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. My research program investigates the macro-level risk factors for early childhood caries and the intersections of oral, mental, sexual and reproductive health for adolescents. I completed my PhD with the University of Zaragoza Spain. I hold a MBA and a MEd degree as well as a Fellowship of the West Africa College of Surgeons. I currently collaborate with government agencies and research regulators on issues of oral health care policy and professionalism in dentistry and serve on the National Technical Working Group for Noma in Nigeria and the National HIV Prevention Working Group. I am also an editorial board member for the BMC Oral Health and Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (CDOE), and the current Director for Africa and the Middle East Region of the Behavioral and Health Sciences Research Group of the IADR. I have had the pleasure of developing multiple national strategic documents including the National Noma Control Policy, the National Oral Health Policy, and the National HIV and AIDS Strategic plan. I am a Fellow of the Nigeria Academy of Science.

  • Lamis Abuhaloob

    Dental Public Health Expert, United Kingdom

    Dr. Lamis Abuhaloob is an academic and consultant specializing in Public Health and Dental Public Health. She served as the President of the IADR Oral Health Research Group from 2023 to 2024. Dr. Abuhaloob has developed partnerships and worked with WHO Collaborating Centers and various universities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), Europe, and the UK. Her research focuses on supporting dental public health education and implementing interdisciplinary, multi-country interventions to promote oral healthcare and services in LMICs, particularly in conflict areas and globally.

September 30, 2024
Mon 8:00 AM EDT

Duration 1H 0M

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