The community health officers (CHO) stationed at Kanpur′s Health and Wellness Centers will now raise awareness of oral disorders among the general public. Additionally, they will make individuals aware of the need to abstain from narcotics to prevent oral cancer.

The CHOs, placed at the district Health and Wellness Centers, and the medical officers deployed at PHCs would be trained in batches of two at the principal medical officer auditorium in Kanpur every Monday and Saturday

According to DCPM Yogendra Pal, the oral health program′s mouth and dental diseases screening campaign will start on August 10 and will cover 37% of the population over 30 of age. This will allow individuals afflicted with diseases to receive the appropriate treatment on time.

Dentists Rashmi Singh and Sachin Srivastava provided comprehensive oral health education to CHOs as part of their training. They instructed the CHOs to refer any such cases to the PHC/CHC level physicians if they were discovered at the village level.

The CHOs should instruct patients on proper oral and dental hygiene practices, such as daily brushing, consumption of plenty of nutrient-rich meals including curd, legumes, fruits, and green vegetables, avoidance of toffee, chocolate, and other sticky sweets, and consumption of fiber-rich foods. They should contact a dentist at the closest health center if they have any dental issues.

Mr. Pal further said that after training, the CHOs at their clinics should treat oral and dental patients appropriately by diagnosing their illnesses and, if necessary, referring them to specialists. (Times of India, Aug 10, 2022)