Past Events

Oral Cancer Awareness and Screening Program- Border Security Force, Chhawla

Date: 20-12-2021 Venue: Border Security Force – Chhawla

Oral cancer awareness and screening program were conducted for the Border Security Force personnel on 20/12/2021 at BSF- Chhawla Camp, New Delhi. The camp focussed primarily on increasing awareness about the oral health and more specifically about oral cancer amongst the masses. The BSF-Chhawla campus has three medical officers over around 6000 population and people there usually seek dental treatment under CGHS empanelled dental clinics.

The program was initiated by a welcome speech. This education program was attended by more than 80 participants including BSF personnel and their families. The program included Oral Cancer Awareness session which included lectures on oral health and oral diseases with prime focus on early detection of oral cancer. The second half of this session covered the prevention and treatment options for the most common oral diseases and more specifically oral premalignant lesions and oral cancer.

In the first session, participants were given a general overview of healthy mouth and the most common oral diseases and prevalence of oral cancer in India. Pictures were shown for each disease like gingivitis, dental caries, malocclusion and fluorosis which helped the participants to co-relate and understand things. They were shown and taught about the oral pre malignant lesions and conditions so that they can identify them at the right time and seek treatment for the same. The risk factors for oral cancer were also highlighted to motivate the participants to stay vigilant about the oral health and not indulge in any harmful activities leading to oral cancer.

Second section included preventive measures both at the participant’s and professional level to avoid oral diseases. A brief outline was also given about the basic dental procedures like pit and fissure sealants, dental caries restoration procedures and root canal treatment. People were motivated to quit tobacco use in all forms and a few tips were given to help them in tobacco cessation. Basic tobacco cessation methods like delaying of tobacco intake, distraction of mind at the time of craving, role of exercise and adequate water intakewas explained to all the participants. This session was ended by a demonstration of correct brushing technique through a brushing model along with a short self oral examination video to motivate people in maintaining proper oral hygiene.

This was followed by an open discussion where participants shared their experiences and problems to which doctors presented solutions.

Next oral screening was done for oral diseases and pre malignant lesions. Participants having any oral disease were explained about their condition with the help of corresponding models and then referred for the treatment of the same. Participants consuming tobacco in any form were counselled briefly and patient education material was provided to them on tobacco cessation. The general finding was that the new recruits had almost all the teeth treated with either restorations or prosthesis while the family members of the BSF personnel had most commonly gingivitis, periodontitis and dental caries. The camp was finished successfully screening 37 participants and educating more than 80 people.

Oral Cancer Awareness and Screening Program- Border Security Force, Bhondsi

Date: 30-11-2021 Venue: Border Security Force – Bhondsi

Oral cancer awareness and screening program were conducted for the Border Security Force personnel on 30th November 2021 at BSF- Bhondsi Camp, Haryana. The camp focussed primarily on increasing awareness about the oral cancer and more specifically about oral health amongst the masses. The BSF- Bhondsi campus covers 6000 population and the residents seek dental treatment under CGHS empanelled dental clinics.

The program was initiated by a welcome speech and the felicitation of the speakers. This education program was attended by more than 150 participants including BSF personnel and their families.

The oral health education was broadly divided under the following heads:

a) Oral cancer screening and early detection: Here participants were made aware of the prevalence of oral cancer in India. They were shown and taught about the oral pre malignant lesions and conditions so that they can identify them at the right time and seek treatment for the same. The risk factors for oral cancer were also highlighted along with a short self oral examination video to motivate the participants to stay vigilant about the oral health and not indulge in any harmful activities leading to oral cancer.

b) Oral health and oral diseases: Participants were given a general overview of healthy mouth and the most prevalent oral diseases in India. Pictorial presentations of diseases like gingivitis, dental caries, malocclusion and fluorosis helped the participants to co-relate and understand things.

c) Prevention of oral diseases and tobacco cessation: This section included preventive measures both at the participant’s and professional level to avoid oral diseases. A brief outline was also given about the basic dental procedures like pit and fissure sealants, dental caries restoration procedures and root canal treatment. People were motivated to quit tobacco use in all forms and a few tips were given to help them in tobacco cessation. This session was ended by a demonstration of correct brushing technique through a brushing model and measures of maintaining oral hygiene.

Following the sessions, an open discussion was encouraged where participants shared their experiences and problems which were addressed by the invited doctors.

Next oral screening was done for oral diseases and pre malignant lesions. Participants having any oral disease were explained about their condition with the help of corresponding models and then referred for the treatment of the same. Participants consuming tobacco in any form were counselled briefly and patient education material was provided to them on tobacco cessation. The general finding was that the new recruits had almost all the teeth treated with either restorations or prosthesis while the family members of the BSF personnel had most commonly gingivitis, periodontitis and dental caries.The outreach activity concluded successfully screening 103 participants and educating more than 150 BSF personnel and their family members.

Oral Cancer Awareness and Screening Program- Border Security Force Tigri

Date: 22-11-2021 Venue: Border Security Force – Tigri

Oral cancer awareness and screening program were conducted for the Border Security Force Jawans on 22/11/21 at BSF- Tigri Camp, New Delhi. There were 70 participants who attended the awareness and 58 participants who participated in the screening program on oral cancer respectively.

The BSF –Tigri campus has well-equipped provisions for medical healthcare facilities; however, no such existing provisions for oral health are present inside or in the majority of the other peripheral campus of BSF. The current program was thus chalked out for the BSF personnel to provide oral cancer awareness and promote oral health among them.

The program was concentrated around oral cancer screening and early detection and it was initiated by educating the participants about the precancerous lesions, their early detection, and prevention. The prevailing usage of smoking and smokeless forms of tobacco products and the current scenario of oral cancer nationally as well as globally was also discussed in the program. The participants were also informed about the different types of oral cancers, their etiology and, prevention.

Demonstration videos were also played to educate the participants about mouth self-examination for early detection of oral cancer. The participants were further given a demonstration about the correct brushing technique and measures of oral hygiene maintenance.The participants were further motivated to carry forward the learning and motivate other participants to enhance the oral health promotion.

The participants were also screened for oral diseases and oral premalignant conditions and IEC material for oral health promotion was also distributed among them. Several participants reported having either smoking or smokeless form of tobacco consumption and were intervened with behavioral tobacco cessation counseling.

Mop-up meeting of State Nodal Officers for National Oral Health Program 2021

Date: 15-11-2021 Venue: Centre for Dental Education and Research

In order to find out the progress made under the National Oral Health Program in all the states and union territories, Oral Health Cell in the Directorate General Health Services, MoHFW and National Centre of Excellence at CDER, AIIMS had planned a mop up round of virtual meeting on 15th November 2021. The meeting discussed on various agenda's on oral health like total number of dental facilities existing under the State, mobile dental van and dental manpower, IEC development existing under each state under NOHP. The below mentioned states participated in the mop-up meeting of State Nodal Officers.

Mop up meeting (15th November 2021): Sikkim, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh

Orientation Program for ASHA workers on oral health at Primary Health Centre- Dayalpur

Date: 13-11-2021 Venue: PHC Dayalpur

An orientation program on oral health for the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) was carried out on 13/11/21 at Primary Health Centre- Dayalpur. A total of 40 ASHA workers attended the training program at the centre.

Dayalpur village is situated 10 kms from Ballabgarh, where the Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project has already established its services. As of 2011 India census, the population of Dayalpur was approximately 20,000 (11000 males and 9,000 females). Children aged 0-6 years constitute around 13.4% populations (2,600 children). The average literacy rate was 89.48%, higher than the state average of 86.21%. Dayalpur has one Govt school each for boys and girls, along with a few private schools.

The Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project through PHC Dayalpur caters to the health needs of this population. The primary health centre (PHC) has six sub-centres which in turn cover a population ranging from 5000-11,000 each. The primary health centre currently has 14 ANMs and 46 ASHAs who aid in providing healthcare services for the centre.

This orientation program for ASHAs on oral health provided insights into what’s inside the mouth, common oral diseases, prevention of oral diseases, and the prevailing myths and facts related to oral health. The attendees were also given a demonstration of the appropriate brushing technique. The orientation program was carried out in continuation with the training program on pregnancy and childbirth by the medical officers and the ASHAs were also oriented about the importance of oral health during pregnancy and in children. The program was carried out by lecture method for 20 minutes which was followed by a comprehensive discussion. The ASHAs provided information about the prevailing myths on oral health in their particular regions.

A discussion regarding expectations and the need for a further training program was also carried out to which all the ASHAs felt the need to be taught about oral health and referred to this program as their first interaction towards oral health promotion by a healthcare professional. The ASHAs were also willing to contribute towards promoting oral health in their region.

Recommendations from the orientation program:

Scope of integration of ASHAs for oral health promotion and setting up the centre as an ideal model utilizing ASHAs for oral health under the National Oral Health Program
Initiation of preventive dental services like topical fluoride and pit and fissure sealants application for the patients attending the PHC.
Extension of services to ART, oral prophylaxis, and uncomplicated dental extractions subjected to feasibility.
Need for a targeted training program on oral health promotion for ASHA workers.
Initiatives for the creation of tobacco-free village through ASHA.
Scope of incorporation of ANMs and Health Assistants for oral health promotion.
Oral health promotion outreach activities at sub centres.
Establishing referral chains with CHC Ballabhgarh.

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