Almost a quarter of the population of the Middle East between the ages of 20 and 40 have already lost one or more teeth, and by the age of 65, nearly half the population will have lost all their teeth, alarming statistics have revealed.
Growing awareness of the scale of the oral health challenge, and rising demand for positive solutions, is reflected in the record number of pre-registered delegates for the Arab Health Dentistry Conference, which forms part of the vertical conference section of 2005’s Arab Health Exhibition and looks set to be the largest gathering of its kind in the region.
“The region’s dental market is currently worth in excess of $2 billion annually and this phenomenal growth is what has prompted a record number of exhibitors connected with dentistry from both the public and private sectors to confirm their presence at next year’s event,” said John Hassett, exhibitions director, healthcare division, IIR Middle East.
The Arab Health Dentistry Conference affords professionals the opportunity to collaborate and share information on the latest developments and technologies available.
2005’s conference will cover a broad range of topics, including teledentistry, improvements in oral healthcare, prosthetic and maxillofacial surgery and aesthetic and cosmetic dental surgery.
“Dental research and the most current information available on the materials and techniques used in contemporary restorative dentistry as well insights on specialised topics such as paediatric dentistry will constitute a significant part of the conference next year. In addition, special presentations will outline interdisciplinary approaches to the proper diagnosis and treatment planning of complex cases in periodontics, orthodontics, and implantation,” added Hassett.
One of the key areas of interest for many dental surgeons attending next year’s event will be discussion around the advanced bone reconstruction techniques of implantology, one of the fastest-growing disciplines within the Middle East.
As in the case of general health, oral health in the Gulf region has improved dramatically in recent years. Dentistry and oral wellbeing are both influenced by the overall performance of the area’s economy, which has burgeoned over the past two decades, and by government and medical authorities’ dental awareness campaigns.
“Oral health’s relationship to general health is a critical one that affects health and well being throughout life; oral diseases and disorders are complex and often progress to a point where they cause patients extreme pain and discomfort and compromise daily functions such as eating, speaking, swallowing, and school and work performance,” said a spokesperson from Master Dental Clinic, a European specialist group that is exhibiting at this year’s event.
“A successful dental sector’s goal is not only the elimination of oral defects and disease, but also the delivery of state-of-the-art techniques that fully restore the patient’s functionality. The Dentistry conference at Arab Health allows role players from all sectors of the dental profession to come together to discuss the full spectrum of issues affecting dental health in the Middle Eastern and share their expertise,” he added.
However, dentistry’s future ability to promote the oral health of the nation will depend on its capacity to integrate new and better technologies into practice, to respond to changing consumer needs, to assure a sufficient supply of well-trained dental educators and dental students and to maintain a strong research focus while continuing to address the needs of those people who do not have easy access to dental care.
