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The Role of Oral Health in Complex Emergencies and Disaster Rehabilitation Medicine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2018

Vishal R. Aggarwal Open the ORCID record for Vishal R. Aggarwal [Opens in a new window]
Vishal R. Aggarwal*
Affiliation:
School of Dentistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Vishal R. Aggarwal, School of Dentistry, University Leeds, Worsley Building, Clarendon Way, Leeds LS2 9LU, UK (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the importance of oral health in complex emergencies. It highlights the importance of maintaining general and oral health in the acute, intermediate and long-term phases of such events which are increasing in frequency. The importance of oral health as an early warning sign for systemic disease and deprivation is also explored along with the crucial role of oral health in maintaining quality of life through adequate nutrition and speech. The overview of oral health in these situations identifies the need for training dental personnel as members of rehabilitation teams that set out to manage these disasters. They can quickly help in improving quality of life for victims by extracting carious and painful teeth as necessary, and also form part of an oral health education program for aid agencies. They can also be the first to identify systemic diseases like HIV and may also play a role in identifying victims of abuse, as non-accidental injuries can frequently present in the oro-facial region. The oral health overview concludes by describing the contents of innovative oral health packs that are tailored to prevention of dental diseases and that can be readily incorporated as part of food packs distributed by aid agencies. (Disaster Med Public Health Prepardness. 2018;12:772-777)

Keywords

oral healthcomplex emergenciesdisaster medicine
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 12 , Issue 6 , December 2018 , pp. 772 - 777
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2018 

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