Sri Lankan news outlet The Morning recently reported that the lack of dental health awareness among adults has been a major cause of the edentulism which is commonly seen among adults in the country, according to information provided by the Sri Lanka Dental Association (SLDA).
Speaking at a World Oral Health Day event, it was reported that health minister Dr Ramesh Pathirana said that 12% of Sri Lanka’s adult population has lost all of their teeth, prompting for oral health education to be started in schools. Dr Pathirana also emphasised the significance of maintaining good oral and dental health throughout one’s lifetime, adding that oral cancer affects a large number of people in the nation at present.
SLDA president Prof Hemantha Amarasinghe verified the data disclosed by Dr Pathirana to the news outlet highlighting that around 12% of the adult population aged between 65 and 75 are toothless. Prof Amarasinghe noted that edentulism has become a common oral health issue among the country’s adult population as revealed in a survey. Moreover, Prof Amarasinghe added that around 20% of Sri Lanka’s adult population has never visited a dental clinic during their entire life, underscoring a lack of awareness of the importance of oral health.
“According to the data that we have, 20% of the adult population has never visited a dental clinic during their lifetime. Most people, not only adults, think that they should visit a clinic only if they have buccal pain. We recommend that everyone visit a dentist frequently. On the other hand, this shows their unawareness and lack of care regarding oral health. When we spoke to them, we realised that they were not concerned about the tooth loss,” said Prof Amarasinghe.
The morning reported that when asked about the accessibility of the oral health clinics or dental hospitals in Sri Lanka, Prof Amarasinghe noted that 65% of Sri Lankans have access to a dentist within 5km and that therefore, accessibility has not been a major issue for the majority of the people. He added that most of government hospitals have a dental clinic where people can get free services. He also noted that the SLDA is conducting awareness programmes to promote oral health among the community and urged the public to visit dental clinics frequently to maintain oral wellbeing.
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