Hans Do - For bad oral hygiene can cause 40 types of disease!

New Delhi, March 20, 2018: Your mouth helps in maintaining your overall health, as it harbours more than 600 types of bacterial colonies that can travel through the blood stream and to different organs causing problems. Studies have proven there are more than 40 types of diseases that can occur due to bad oral hygiene. India’s leading dental care expert Lt Gen Vimal Arora, Chief Clinical Officer at Clove Dental said this while unveiling a unique mass awareness oral care drive on World Oral Health Day on Tuesday, named Hans Do, which translates into do smile.

HANS DO stands for Hygiene Awareness & Need Sensitization on Dental and Oral care and was launched by India’s leading dental care chain Clove Dental at a south Delhi slum Rangpur Pahari in Mahipalpur. The program aims to sensitise people on need for oral and dental care and encourage them to adopt healthy practices. Doctors from Clove Dental in the clinic’s special mobile van carried out oral and dental screening of over 500 people in the first edition of the program at Rangpur Pahari in Mahipalpur. Ball Vikas Dhara, an NGO, working in this joined Clove Dental as a partner in this awareness program. Debendra Kumar Baral of Bal Vikas Dhara said, “While we undertake a lot of work on general health issues, this is truly unique and we are glad to partner with Clove Dental on this.”

A Nature report quoting Indian National Cancer Registry Programme report recently pointed out that there has been worrying rise in cancers of the upper aero-digestive tract (mouth, tongue, oro-pharynx, hypopharynx, larynx and oesophagus) among both sexes as important sites for undertaking risk factor research and implementing early detection programs. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey India, conducted in 2009-10, revealed that 35% of adults used tobacco. Tobacco-related cancers are expected to constitute 30% of the total cancer burden by 2020. The Indian subcontinent accounts for one third of the global burden of cancers of lip and oral cavity. Cancers of mouth and tongue, taken together, overshadow cancer of lung.

“Thanks to mainstream media, awareness on cancer prevention, care and cure has grown manifold in urban areas; however in rural and urban slum areas this remains low. Hans Do is designed to address this gap and is aimed at sensitizing people on oral and dental hygiene and how lack of it can lead to serious ailments including cancer. The program module involves conducting awareness meet, and dental check up camps across many slum localities of Delhi,” informed Amar Singh, CEO, Clove Dental.

“The condition of your mouth is closely linked to your overall health. Taking care of your teeth isn’t just about having a nice smile and pleasant breath.The state of your teeth affects your overall health as gum disease is linked to health problems elsewhere in the body. Regular check-ups allow your dentists to see if you have any dental problems, and help you keep your mouth healthy. Leaving problems untreated could make them more difficult to treat in the future, so it’s best to deal with problems early or, if possible, prevent them altogether,” added Dr Mehra.

Clove Dental has extented its committed services to underserved communities through Clove Dental Heritage, an entity that unites Clove’s research, training and community services under one roof. Clove Dental Heritage was inaugurated by Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India. The Centre has two dental chairs that provide dental care to the underprivileged, particularly labourers who work in the local factories. Since January 2014, Clove has conducted many dental programs for underprivileged adults and children at organisations such as the Mother Teresa Orphanage, The Happy School in Gurgaon and the United Nations International Association Kindergarten.

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