Over 2 m dental patients treated annually - Minister

Nadira Gunatilleke

Over two million dental patients are treated annually in private and public health care centres and hospitals throughout the country. Annually about four million school children attend regular check-ups carried out in school health care centres, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said.

Addressing the International Dental Conference in Colombo recently, Minister Sirisena said Tobacco use, cigarettes, cigars or smokeless tobacco can cause various forms of oral cancers. Cigarette smoking is responsible for a majority of dental diseases and frequent consumption of sugar causes tooth decay. In spite of the opposition displayed by the cigarette manufacturers, the Government has taken all possible steps to print cancer visuals covering 80 per cent of cigarette packet covers to discourage smoking.

Minister Sirisena pointed out that all dental patients are treated free of charge in the public sector and oral health education activities are conducted to promote oral health awareness and oral hygiene practices.

The country observes a significant growth in dental research in the recent years.

The conference was jointly organized by by the Sri Lanka Dental Association, Asia Pacific Dental Association and Commonwealth Dental Association. Representatives from 123 countries participated in the conference.