Oral health in India particularly in rural hinterlands is a cause of concern as many people do not have access to dental care services – Secondly, cancer is India is being reported at an alarming proportion, nearly one million new cases are diagnosed every year and the numbers are only rising. Out of all Cancer types, Oral Cancer that is part of Head & Neck Cancer is 21% of all cancer types and in the highest place.
Oral Potentially Malignant Disorder (OPMD) is a set of conditions that predispose a lot of people to Oral cancer if not detected and treated early. Leukoplakia white patches on the inner lining of oral cavity & Oral Sub mucous Fibrosis restricted opening of mouth are two clinical presentations that can potentially lead to Oral malignancies.
HHF conducted 40 Oral Cancer screening camps in several Urban slums and so far, screened over 3200 patients’ adults both men and women and supported 1807 cases saved Rs. 20 Lakhs. About 15% of the adults with exposure to non-smoke tobacco have been found to diagnose with OPMD.
Once the OPMD are diagnosed, our dental health & palliative care physician facilitates treatment of the patient at our dental clinics in the slums, treatment along with counselling is being initiated parallelly for these patients and health care workers are tracking the case very closely.
To improve the screening process and conduct onsite dental
procedures for the OPMD & other dental cases there is a need of your
support for this program.
