Toothache can kill Dental charity highlights the plight of patients in the developing world Thousands of people in the developing world are still dying unnecessarily from untreated tooth decay, claims dental health NGO Bridge2Aid (B2A). Speaking on World Oral Health Day (Wednesday 20 March), Mark Topley, CEO of B2A, said: “It is 2013 and people are still dying from untreated dental decay. Here in the UK we complain about a toothache but usually we can get treated within a few days at max. “The shocking reality is that three-quarters of the world’s population have no access to even the most basic of dental services. Dental caries as the dental profession is the world’s most common disease. It causes debilitating pain and drastically affects a person’s ability to function.” Most developing countries don’t have enough dentists: in Tanzania, where B2A is based, there is one dentist for approximately every 100,000 people (in the UK the ratio is 1:2,500). In Rwanda, where B2A is about to launch a new project, there are just 11 dentists for the entire country. To make matters worse, these dentists usually live in cities and large towns, far away from remote rural communities where the help is needed most. This lack of access to pain relief leads to chronic suffering, the loss of ability to work or support the family, withdrawal of children from school (to help support subsistence farming), and complications that can and do lead to death. “Although access to a dentist in every town, every village remains a utopia," said Mark Topley, "we must all of us in the dental profession focus on relieving dental pain through training, so that local medics can carry out safe tooth extractions. “Otherwise, literally, a toothache can kill.”
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 14:43:33 +0000
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