Dr Malissa binti Abdullah Sikun, centre, at the
media briefing. – Azlan Othman
THE
second phase of the National Oral Health survey for adults will be conducted
from September to December, during which information will be gathered to assist
in the future planning of oral health care in Brunei Darussalam.
“We hope
to look at the number of dental disease in the population and we try to
correlate the examination data with what we have in the questionnaire,” Dr
Malissa binti Abdullah Sikun, the Director of the National Oral Health Survey
2015-2017, told the media yesterday.
“A
certain age group may have a high rate of tooth decay, and we will see if we
need to realign our national strategy in our five-year oral health plan to
achieve our target of good dental hygiene.
“The
participation and the information in these surveys will provide a significant
contribution to current information status of oral health in Brunei
Darussalam.”
The
National Oral Health Survey 2015-2017 was officially launched on August 8,
2015.
The
Working Group for the Survey of Dental Services is working with expert
consultants from the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health
(ARCPOH) at the University of Adelaide, to seek advice and guidance in the
planning and implementation of the survey to ensure that they meet the required
legal, ethical and international scientific standards.
The
survey is divided into two phases, with the first for children and the second
for adults.
Surveys
on children were successfully carried-out from August to December 2015, while
the survey for adults will begin on September 17.
“The
second phase of the National Oral Health Survey 2015-2017 for adults is
expected to involve 4,000 random citizens and residents of Brunei Darussalam,
aged 18 years and above, in hospitals, health centres selected community halls
across the country,” said Dr Malissa.
When
asked about the findings of the earlier survey, Dr Malissa said that the
results of the children’s survey were still being evaluated. “We will get the
full results next year, together with the results from the adults’ survey,” she
said.
On the
oral health situation in Brunei Darussalam, she said, “Athough the Ministry of
Health has made dental services accessible in clinics throughout the country,
only one-third of the population come to seek dental treatment due to a variety
of reasons such as work commitment or from a fear of coming to see us.
“We are
not able increase our coverage of our population. For the past five years, we
only have had about 30 per cent of the population coming to see us.
“In our
children’s survey, we included questions such as the reasons for failing to see
us and how we can plan strategies to increase our coverage.”
Selected
participants will be given an appointment to be present at a specified
location, to fill out the survey form and subsequently undergo a dental
examination.
After
dental examination, participants will receive general advice about their oral
health and will be notified if there are major issues affecting their oral
health which need further evaluation or treatment.
Appointments
for the dental survey will be held from Monday to Thursday, and on Saturday,
from 8am to 4.30pm.
Cooperation
from employers is required, for participants in the survey to attend their
scheduled appointments.
Azlan
Othman
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