PETALING JAYA: Good oral health constitutes more than merely not having cavities in one’s teeth but encompasses a range of diseases and conditions, say experts.
Oral health also refers to the overall health of mouth including the teeth, gums and the surrounding bones, explains Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia senior lecturer and Dental Public Health Specialist Assoc Prof Dr Haslina Rani.
“When talking about oral health issues, many people only think of the dental cavity, also known as dental caries,” she said.
If left unchecked, Dr Haslina said, both dental caries and periodontal disease may develop into more serious conditions.
“Not only can dental caries and periodontal disease cause pain, the pain may also disturb one’s daily activities, reduce productivity and ultimately impact one’s quality of life.
“At a more advanced stage, dental caries and periodontal disease may cause bad breath and eventually tooth loss,” said the Assistant Secretary of the Malaysian Association of Dental Public Health. “Having these oral diseases affects one’s ability to eat and may lead to problems such as inadequate nutrition. Oral health issues also affect how we speak, smile and socialise, which may affect our self-esteem.”
Oral health is also associated with general health. “Pregnant mothers with periodontal problems have the risk of delivering premature babies,” she added.
She said periodontal disease may also affect the blood sugar control of diabetes patients.
“To make matters worse, Malaysians have poor dental visits. According to the National Health Morbidity Survey 2019, only 23.7% visited the dentist annually while 15% reported they have never visited the dentist,” she said.
Various national surveys have been conducted to measure the oral health status of the Malaysian population. Marked improvements could be seen in the caries status of 12-year-olds, from 78.4% in the first survey in 1970, to 33.3% in the latest national oral health survey of school children conducted in 2017.
“Unfortunately, for the adult population, the improvement in caries status is marginal; there was only 8% of reduction within the span of 20 years. The caries status among adults is high at 88.9% in the latest survey in 2010, and the periodontal or gum disease status was reported to be alarmingly high at 94%,” she added.
Dr Haslina said the high prevalence of oral diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease imposes a huge burden on the country’s economy. But oral diseases are generally easily preventable as the causes are known.
While there are multiple factors associated with the development and progress of oral diseases, poor dietary and oral hygiene habits are the primary reasons.
