HYDERABAD: President Pranab Mukherjee today called upon doctors to honour the trust that people repose in them as he advised members of the medical fraternity to use their knowledge and technical expertise for the welfare of the common man.
Addressing the sixth convocation of MDS and 11th convocation of BDS courses at the Army College of Dental Sciences here, the President said, “In your career, there will be many professional accomplishments to your credit. Your parents, teachers and alma mater will be proud of your achievements. But there will also be a higher calling in your life. You are venturing into a noble profession like medicine.”
“In society, a doctor is accorded the status of God. Honour the trust that people will repose in you. Honour the Hippocratic Oath. Use your knowledge and technical expertise for the welfare of the common man. With your professional might, contribute to the cause of humanity, and touch and transform the lives of millions,” Mukherjee advised.
The President said good health is a gift of God and it is also earned through the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle.
Quoting Lord Buddha, Mukherjee said, “To keep the body in good health is a duty…Otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
He stressed it is important to regulate “our daily routine so that we can enjoy good health throughout our life” and added oral health is an important component of the overall health profile of an individual. But not much attention is paid to this aspect of human well-being.
“Many in our country suffer from poor oral health due to wrong lifestyle choices. Consumption of tobacco, junk food, aerated beverages and sweets damage teeth and cause dental caries. Compounding the problem is a general lack of awareness and neglect. Lack of identification of oral diseases at initial stages and neglect of oral health deterioration adds to the disease burden,” Mukherjee said.
Stressing that the quantum of work required to be done in this field is huge, the President said it is incumbent on physicians and dentists to reinforce the qualities of oral health hygiene in people.
“Unless citizens enjoy good health, their productive potential cannot be realised fully. It is important to ensure adequate coverage of the population with quality healthcare infrastructure,” he said.
There are over 300 dental colleges in the country producing around 30,000 dentists annually, but these numbers are somewhat inadequate as the ‘dentist to patient’ ratio is small, particularly in the suburban and rural areas.
As against an already low ratio of 1:8,000 in urban areas, the dentist to population ratio is acute in rural areas with one dentist for every 50,000 people, Mukherjee said.
“If we have to close the gap between the number of people seeking dental treatment and the number of dentists available, we have to introduce innovative models of service delivery. In addition to organising dental camps and dental education outreach camps, we need to increase access through mobile dental clinics,” he said.
Mukherjee said it has become imperative to initiate awareness drives and reach out to the population that has so far been excluded from dental care services.
“We have to start from a basic level, by educating parents and teachers on proper oral healthcare regime and ensure that good practices are inculcated in large number of children.”
“To reach out effectively to the underprivileged and backward sections of our population, we have to employ simpler methods for them to remember and benefit from,” he said.
“To develop a culture of oral health in our society, we have to create a mindset that understands the importance of improving personal oral hygiene,” the President added. (AGENCIES)
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