80% of children suffer from dental related diseases

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Oct. 26: In what may appear as typical status, the Indian Dental Association Nagaland State Branch (IDANSB) has recorded that over 80% of children in Nagaland suffer from dental related diseases.
The report was quoted from the presidential address of the Indian Dental Association Nagaland State Branch’s (IDANSB) 16th conference and annual general meeting at Naithu Resort in Dimapur on Oct. 26.
President of IDANSB, Kezeneilie Peinyu, in his address said: “More than 80% of our children suffer from dental caries and gingival diseases. Many suffers from malocclusion and developmental anomalies.” However, he added that most of the oral diseases are preventable with proper education and awareness.
Keeping in view with all these records, Peinyu urged upon the state health department to contribute in preventing oral related diseases in the society. Further, he requested the authority concerned to promote oral and dental services by “providing better facilities and creation of more posts for dental surgeons in all community health centres and primary health centres.”
The president also presented the statistics of the dentists and those involved in dentistry in the state. Peinyu said that that there are over 150 dental surgeons, 33 regular government doctors, and 17 National Health Mission contractual doctors.
While highlighting some of the constraints faced by the dentists in the state, Peinyu said, “Most of our dental surgeons have to resort to private practice by setting up their own clinics which requires a huge investment and no financial assistance is available from the government.”
Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare, I Himato Zhimomi, raised concerned at the “shortage of doctors in far flung areas” and said that it is posing a huge challenge to the people in these regions. He urged the gathering to take up the challenge and serve in remote areas of the state. Zhimomi also pointed out the fact that “we are still people who are backward, unaware the basics of oral hygiene.”
Owing to the surge of artificial intelligence in every spectrum including dental, he said that skills and knowledge upgrade is going to be of paramount importance as patients are going to search for the best. Nonetheless, Zhimomi insisted the doctors that a ‘humanitarian approach’ be coupled along with their works. The secretary also announced that the government will initiate a “separate director” for the dental very soon.
Zhimomi also released the annual news letter 2018 of IDANSB during the occasion. Further, the conference witnessed different sessions with variety of topics such as ‘emergency management of oral and maxilla facial trauma,’ ‘clinician’s role in optimising best practices and safe use of pit and fissure sealants,’ ‘practice management,’ etc.