COMMUNITY REPORT: Reorienting Primary Oral Healthcare – Pakistan Dental Mission 2017, An IMANA-Riphah Collaboration

Abstract

“More than 90 percent of all systemic diseases have oral manifestations, meaning that your dentist could be the first health care provider to diagnose a health problem” (Raymond Martin, Academy of general
1 dentistry).
2 Oral health is widely recognized as a significant determinant of general health. The burden of poor oral health 3 has crucial social and economic implications, especially in the developing world. Low BMI, poor pregnancy outcomes, low birth weight, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases are some of the conditions 4 associated with compromised oral health. In third world countries, other risk factors such as poor socioeconomic status, lack of dental health education and awareness and inappropriate health policies further...............................................