Experts link NCDs to poor oral healthcare

[MrVan]

By SOLA OGUNDIPE & CHIOMA OBINNA

MEDICAL experts have identified links between oral health care and Non Communicable Diseases even as they noted  predominance of evidence  association between oral infections (especially periodontal disease) and systemic diseases, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes, diabetes mellitus, pulmonary infections, and different forms of cancer.

At the 2012 Scientific conference of the Nigeria Dental Association, NDA,  with the theme: "Non Communicable Diseases and the Dentist" and "Dentinal Hypersensitivity", the experts observed that periodontal diseases are associated with increased risks for the life-threatening chronic diseases.

In his lecture entitled: "Non-Communicable Diseases and Dental Health", the Chief Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Professor Akin Osibogun a recent review  suggested a possible link between periodontal disease and certain cancers such as oral cancer and esophageal cancer.

The public health expert regretted that despite the significant burden on overall health, oral diseases are generally neglected, stressing that dentists have a unique role to play in their prevention and control. .

He said for effective control of NCDs, attention must be paid to the social determinants of disease, many of which are outside the purview of the health sector, adding that oral disease can influence systemic disease and systemic disease can influence oral health.

In her own lecture, Prof. Gbemisola Oke of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Ibadan, noted that good oral health enables an individual to speak, eat and socialise without discomfort or embarrassment.

According to her, three out of every five people worldwide are killed by one of the four main NCDs – diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and chronic lung disease. "Unfortunately, all of these diseases can be linked to dental health in some way or another," she avowed.

She further noted that tooth decay is of particular concern in poor communities because of its negative impact on childhood nutrition, growth and weight gain

She said periodontal disease can also possibly lead to a release of oral bacteria into the bloodstream and contribute to the formation of blood clots, thereby increasing the risk of coronary heart disease, CHD and researchers have found that people with gum disease are more likely to suffer from coronary artery disease.

She however, called for public policies that would help reduce the global NCD burden through appropriate actions in health promotion, disease prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, and advocating for research and finance.

Speaking the President of the Nigeria Dental Association, Dr. Femi Orebanjo explained that the conference was to bring the issue of non communicable disease to the front burner as it has become a universal issue to stem down the prevalence of the burden of NCDs on the world population.

Vanguard Nigeria