Principal Dental Officer urges public to prioritise oral health
Principal Dental Officer of the Cheddi Jagan Dental Centre Dr Marvin Monzie is calling for more focus to be placed on oral health to reduce the prevalence of oral diseases in Guyana.
This year’s dental conference placed a special focus on public health strategies, specifically in the area of prevention and treatment of oral health disease.
The two-day Dental Conference was held to commemorate oral health month at the Pegasus Corporation Suites. This was the first Dental Conference held in five years.
Dr Marvin Monzie, Principal Dental Officer of the Cheddi Jagan Dental Centre, called on persons to pay more attention to their oral health as efforts intensify to mitigate the threat of oral diseases.
“We have discovered that the growing burden of oral disease demands action on every level; individual, family and community. We are confident that simple targeted action have the power to limit the prevalence of oral diseases and make oral health a personal priority for all.”
Dr Pravesh Harry, Chairman of the Guyana Dental Council praised the officials, students and dental practitioners from the private and public sectors for recognising the significance of these types of events.
“This is probably one of the biggest turnouts that one of these continuing education events has had and its quite pleasing to see that and to see the changes over the years. It definitely shows progression and the right mindset towards being receptive toward learning so that, at the end of the day, we can all do better for the patients that we treat.”
While oral health is traditionally a neglected area of global health, the Ministry of Health is working on putting this high on the radar over the next few years.
The Ministry of Health is continuously working on expanding health care services, hence the new regional hospitals being constructed are expected to be equipped to provide dental care services to the general public in the respective regions.
The Ministry will also soon commence the drafting of a Dental Health Strategic Plan which will inform and set the vision for universal coverage for oral health, reaching all individuals and communities.
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