We talk to prof. Marzena Dominiak, president of the Polish Dental Society.
The celebration of the World Mouth Health Day AD 2020 was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and the first, longest lockdown in Poland. Do you believe that this year’s celebration of this day will be more noticeable?
Prof. Marzena Dominiak: Yes. Of course, we did not deal with the pandemic definitively, but the situation today is completely different to that of a year ago. At that time, COVID-19 thwarted our plans a lot, but it also taught us a lot. Today we design celebrations to measure up to the times. As a dental community, I believe that we cannot remain indifferent to the date of March 20. We have made many efforts as PTS, and previously the medical self-government, to embed this holiday in the minds of dentists. Of course, it is worth talking about oral health throughout the year, but in March a bit louder, the more so because with a special PTS resolution, we announced March as Oral Health Month.
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Selection of the theme of this year’s celebrations and the accompanying campaign “Poland says #aaa!” shouldn’t be a problem. There are many topics worth publicizing in dentistry. In previous years, there was a lot of talk about basic prophylaxis, the effects of oral health on the body, excessive sugar consumption, cancer prevention, childcare and caring for pregnant parents. What will PTS focus on this year?
Prof. Marzena Dominiak: In fact, as organizers, we have a choice. We decided to partially revert to the 2018 theme, when we first highlighted the correlation between oral health and general health for the first time. However, we intend to expand the message with a note to the slogan: “Conscious patient, conscious doctor”. Our decision has to do with two facts.
The first is that a few weeks ago, the World Dental Federation, FDI, presented the Vision 2030 document which sets out the priorities for global dentistry. Despite the fact that FDI often talks about the integration of dentistry like hardly anyone in the world, according to experts, the topic is not exhausted. I read it this way – despite our efforts, including our national efforts, we have not fully understood the idea, both at the professional and government level. Speaking of professionals, I mean not only dentists, but also doctors of other specialties, educators, educators and officials.
The second fact, arguing our motive this year, is related to the actions taken by PTS. As part of the Patient Zone, during the virtual edition of CEDE, we met with the leaders of the most important patient organizations in the country, we established cooperation with the Institute of Patient Rights and Health Education. We quickly identified a serious issue: patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, kidney diseases, cognitive disorders, have a very low awareness of the importance of oral health for their quality of life and treatment success. Moreover, many attending physicians do not know about it either. As we are planning further educational activities as part of the CEDE Patient Zone, we have decided that this year we will focus our communication efforts on reaching patients and their doctors. Naturally, it will be knowledge that can be useful to everyone, certainly also to dentists, hygienists and assistants.
This year’s message is thoughtfully related to the current epidemiological situation in the country. Although we do not have hard figures, we are constantly informed that patients continue to postpone scheduled dental visits. It is very dangerous not only for the condition of the teeth, but – exactly – for the whole body.
How will World Mouth Health Day 2021 look like in practice?
Prof. Marzena Dominiak: As every year, they will be focused on the campaign “Poland says #aaa!”. Traditionally, we will invite everyone to actively celebrate, come up with projects and submit them to the interactive campaign map. In due course, we will present a package of educational materials to be downloaded from the official website www.polskamowiaaa.pl. We will also communicate on social media.
For obvious reasons, we do not plan mass events, but thanks to the support of our partners – OralB and the Enel-med network, we will be able to invite patients for dental check-ups. We will provide details soon.
Webinar projects prepared by the members of the Prevention and Health Promotion Section of the PTS will be an important element of the celebrations.