His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Oral Hygiene Initiative for labours

The announcement  of the initiative was made during a press conference at the Dubai World Trade Centre on the sidelines of the 20th edition of the UAE International Dental Conference and Arab Dental Exhibition – AEEDC. Organized in collaboration with the Permanent Committee of Labor Affairs (PCLA) in Dubai, and the Dubai Dental Clinic (DDC), the clinical partner of the Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine of the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Initiative delivered screening sessions from May 19 until December 8, 2015 in the first year.

Recognizing several workers have limited access to dental treatment, resulting in untreated and often preventable oral health problems, the Initiative included dental checkups and oral hygiene instructions conducted by a team comprising faculty, residents and dental hygienists, dental assistants and administrative staff.

The clinical data collected from the 2,000 workers screened indicated that the most common oral health problems were dental plaque and tartar (calculus), tooth decay (dental caries) and gum (periodontal) disease. Around 46% of the workers were suffering from dental pain. Severe dental problems were found in 44% of the workers who required dental extraction whereas close to 30% workers had missing teeth requiring fixed or removable dental prostheses. Overall it was observed that 81% required oral hygiene programs.