PHILIPSBURG--Persons in the community seeking advice on their dental care needs can make use of the community dental care services that will be offered at the Mobile Dental Bus, which will be at the Vineyard Office Park where Collective Prevention Services (CPS) is located from 2.00 to 4.30pm Tuesday, February 13.
Dentist Hilda Guevara will volunteer her time to carry out the consultations.
CPS said in a press release on Sunday that dental caries is a major public health problem globally and is the most widespread non-communicable disease, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
It is also the most prevalent condition included in the 2015 Global Burden of Disease Study, ranking first for decay of permanent teeth (2.3 billion people) and 12th for deciduous teeth (560 million children).
Dental caries can be prevented by avoiding dietary free sugars. It is largely preventable through simple and cost-effective population-wide and individual interventions, whereas treatment is costly and is often unavailable in low- and middle-income countries.
In low-income countries, the majority of dental caries goes untreated. Teeth affected by caries are often extracted (pulled out) when they cause pain or discomfort.
Severe dental caries can impair quality of life. For example, dental caries may cause difficulties in eating and sleeping, and in its advanced stages (abscesses), it may result in pain and chronic systemic infection. Dental caries is also associated with adverse growth patterns. Further, tooth decay is a frequent cause of absence from school or work.
CPS urges the population to use the opportunity on Tuesday to get their teeth checked.
