Our Dean, Prof. Dr. Ali Alp SAĞLAM's message for November 22 Dentists' Day

    Today is November 22, Dentists' Day. Since November 22, 1908, when the discussions for the establishment of the "Dentist School" began in the Teachers' Assembly, the 113th year of Dentists' Day, which has been regularly celebrated, happy Dentists' Day to all our dentists. Therefore, on the occasion of this week being Oral and Dental Health Week, we want to inform and raise awareness about oral and dental care with the slogan "Health Starts from the Mouth". As Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Faculty of Dentistry, if our first duty is to train good dentists, our second duty is to reveal the oral and dental health profile of our society and enlighten everyone about oral and dental care for healthier teeth and more beautiful smiles.

    In this article, first of all, we want to provide information about the level of oral and dental health in our country, and to enlighten you with various scientific articles written by our professors working in different branches in our Faculty, as you will follow in our future articles, for our people who unfortunately fail in this regard to have a healthier mouth.

    As in all health issues, unfortunately, preventive approaches are not given importance in the field of oral and dental health in our country. If we stay away from cariogenic foods as much as possible, brush our teeth effectively and regularly according to the rules, and go to the dentist for control every 6 months even if we have no complaints, we would have had our treatment in a simple way without the costs growing, and we would not have been worn out psychologically because the treatment would be simple. Of course, the most important thing is to have a clean and healthy mouth.

    However, it is noteworthy that even mandatory dental treatments are postponed today, and only very urgent procedures are performed. In a study conducted in 2016, it is noteworthy that the number of patients per dentist has decreased from 3785 to 2173 in 10 years. This decrease may be due to the increase in the number of dentists or our people avoiding going to the dentist as much as possible. However, it is thought-provoking that while the rate of adult individuals applying to dentists in our country is around 40%, this rate is at the level of 80% in EU countries with high socioeconomic levels such as Sweden and Denmark.

    It is unfortunate that the consumption of toothpaste and toothbrushes is also low in our country, where it is understood that routine dentist control is not performed. In 60% of Turkey, there is no toothpaste and toothbrush in homes. The renewal period of toothbrushes, which need to be renewed every three months, is unfortunately once every 4 years in our country. The per capita toothpaste consumption in Turkey is an average of 85 grams per year, despite unnecessarily squeezing excessive amounts of toothpaste onto the brush, while this consumption is 155 in Spain, 270 in Italy, 400 in the Netherlands and 570 grams in Israel. The rate of those who brush their teeth regularly in our country is only at the level of 5%. It is seen that 26% of those who brush their teeth regularly do this for aesthetic purposes so that their teeth look whiter and brighter, which shows how much importance we attach to health. While the ideal tooth brushing time should normally be 2 minutes, the fact that this time has been determined as an average of 30 seconds in our country indicates that the already negligible brushing is very shoddy and insufficient.

    Of course, as a result of such insufficient oral care, as you can guess, the rates of tooth decay, tartar and consequently gum inflammation are also very high in our country. 9 out of every 10 people have a problem in their mouth. 73.8% of our society has tooth decay, 70% have mild or advanced gum disease, and 67% have tooth sensitivity. Due to early tooth loss, half of our people over 65 have no teeth in their mouth. A very large part of our patients who apply to the dentist are made up of individuals without teeth in their mouth. So we go to the dentist, not for tooth decay and gum inflammation that we suffer the most, but to get dentures. We brush our teeth not for our health, but to look aesthetically beautiful. Therefore, we only clean the visible faces of our front teeth. I'm not even mentioning the low use of dental floss and other oral care products. Imagine swallowing the rotten food and breeding microorganisms accumulated in our mouth and teeth by eating again. That's why I emphasize again that health starts from the mouth. As Mehmet Akif University Faculty of Dentistry, we will raise awareness about oral and dental cleaning through various media organizations. You can be sure that we will do more than we can to improve the oral and dental health of our society after we start dental treatments in our Faculty, which will be operational next year with the great efforts of our Rector, Prof. Dr. Adem KORKMAZ. On this occasion, let's all start brushing our teeth twice a day for 2 minutes during this Oral and Dental Health Week. Let's get our toothbrushes and toothpastes to be replaced every three months for each individual separately at home. If you haven't been for a while, let's get an examination appointment from a dentist and have problems like tooth decay, gum disease diagnosed if they exist in our mouth.

    In the articles to be published in the future, you will gain different and useful information on various topics related to Dentistry, from oral and dental care to impacted teeth. I wish everyone healthy and happy smiles.

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