Department activities
World No Tobacco Day 2022 – National Conference: “Tobacco Control – Healthcare and Beyond”
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Manav Rachna Dental College to observe World No Tobacco Day 2022. A National Conference ‘Tobacco Control: Healthcare and Beyond’ was held on 26th and 27th of May 2022. This conference aimed to look beyond merely tobacco cessation to focus on other aspects of tobacco control which include fiscal, legislative and regulatory methods. The guest speakers were Dr. L Swasticharan, Additional Dy. DG & Director, DGHS, MoH,GOI; Dr. PC Gupta, Director HealisSekhsaria Institute of Public Health, Mumbai; Dr. Pawan Gupta, Director HN Max Institute of Cancer Care, New Delhi & Founder – ICanCaRe; and Dr. Vikrant Mohanty, Prof. & HOD, Public health dentistry, MAIDS, Delhi. The session conveners were Dr.Shourya Tandon, Dr. Abhishek Mehta &Dr. Mansi Atri. The conference was approved for 4 CDE points and we were joined by Dr.Charu Mohan Marya, Principal, Sudha Rustagi Dental College as the HSDC Observer.
This conference was conducted in Hybrid Mode which garnered the interest of delegates even beyond Delhi NCR, that across the states of Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jammu, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, who joined us through our zoom platform. We had over 250 registrations and 92 entries for Scientific Poster and Paper Presentation which were held over eight scientific sessions and were chaired by senior faculty members from various dental colleges across Delhi NCR and even Punjab.
We are proud to say that this is the first ever National Conference conducted exclusively on Tobacco Control by any Dental College in India.
Faridabad Smiles
It is the longest running patient centric program for Public Outreach Activities in the Villages of Faridabad. It is primarily based on advantageous engagementwith the community leaders, Panchayat Head, Counsellor, NGO Workers for active mobilization of people to utilize Dental Check up Services. Community engagement is done with the help of these stake holders one day prior to the Dental Screening Camp. People with dental treatment desires are referred to MRDC and had been told about the time and pick up point for the bus service.
This program caters to nearly 10,000 patients yearly of which 5000 to 6000 visit MRDC for further treatment.
International Women’s Day – 2022
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Sciences (FDS), Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS), Faridabad organized a Women’s only Dental Awareness and Screening Drive on International Women’s Day in association with NavSrishti Foundation, Palla, Faridabad. Nav Srishti foundation has on ground presence in nearly 900 households involving almost 1,20,000 women, where they support women self-help groups and were instrumental in conducting door to door awareness for the maximum involvement of women in this program. International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. The theme this year was to #BreakTheBias. This entails breaking the gender bias in health care too and to assist women to be in a position of power to make informed decisions about their health. It is well known that in rural areas especially, the health of the men of the households takes precedence over that of the women. This necessitates the need for such a program. Oral health education was given to four different batches of women. The topics covered were common oral health problems and their prevention, changes in oral health of women at various stages of life such as puberty, pregnancy and menopause, menstrual and general hygiene. Total number of patients screened were 131 and another 60 received Sanitary Napkin packs.
The women responded well to the program and realized the importance of focusing on their health too along with the health of their family. The message of breaking the bias on women’s day was well conveyed to them.
World Oral Health Day – 2022
World oral health day is celebrated every year on the 20th of March to reiterate the importance of oral health in the community. The theme for the year was Be Proud of Your Mouth.
In a bid to make people to value and take care of their oral health and to make the right decisions to protect it, we at the department of Public Health Dentistry, Manav Rachna Dental College, conducted a series of thought provoking and impactful events.
A field visit for underprivileged Children from Prakashdeep Foundation was conducted, where they visited the dental college, received oral health education and understood the importance of regular dental check-ups. They then participated in a poster competition on the theme “Be Proud of your Mouth” which gave them an opportunity to reproduce on canvas, their understanding of good oral health. All stationery, colours and art sheet were provided by Manav Rachna Dental College. The event was graced by Mrs Satya Bhalla, Chief Patron MREI, Dr.Arundeep Singh, Principal MRDC, Dr.Asheem Agarwal, Vice Principal MRDC and Dr. Meena Jain, HOD, Department of Public Health Dentistry, MRDC. The children used their imagination and made very innovative educational posters. Satya ma’m very kindly judged the posters and 3 posters were awarded best poster and 2 were given consolation certificates. The children were then given refreshments. The whole event was met with a lot of enthusiasm by the children and organizers alike.
They say, charity begins at home, so our next session for the day was organized for our very own class IV staff of entire MRU. In line with the World Health Organization’s mission of Universal Health Coverage, this event was aimed at sensitization of Class IV staff towards Oral Health Care and disseminate this information in their communities across villages in Faridabad. They were trained to become Community Coordinators for Manav Rachna Dental College and aid in conducting Public Outreach Programs for better availability of oral health care to underprivileged sectors. This event was chaired by our respected Principal Dr Arundeep Singh who also interacted with the audience and encouraged them to actively participate in oral health care programs by the department of Public Health Dentistry.
MEGA TREATMENT CAMP
Manav Rachna Dental College has been actively participating in improving the dental health of the community since its inception. We have covered large part of population in Faridabad and surrounding areas for oral health. On 25th Nov 2016 Public Health Dentistry conducted a mega treatment camp at Mohna. This was done as a part of dental treatment drive by deputy commissioner Faridabad. The camp timing was 9a.m to 5 p.m. The services provided in the camp were dental check up, cleaning of teeth, removal of teeth and filling of teeth. Medicines were distributed to the needful patients. Health education was also provided regarding proper brushing technique and role of diet in their oral health.
WORLD ORGAN DONATION DAY
World organ donation day was observed on 16th Aug 2016. Dr Muneet Kaur Sahi from Mohan foundation sensitized students and faculty of Manav Rachna Dental College on importance and issues related to organ donation. On this occasion about 50 individuals pledged for donation through organ donation cards. A post program assessment demonstrated good attitude and knowledge of participants about organ donation.
World No Tobacco day
An anti-tobacco rally was held from Govt BK Hospital, Faridabad and ended at Manav Rachna Head Office amidst much enthusiasm and encouragement from Senior dignitaries and the Institutional Heads of Manav Rachna Educational Institutions, other government hospitals and medical colleges of Faridabad. The event was organized by the department of Public Health Dentistry, MRDC and supported by Lions Club, Faridabad. Students of MRDC joined in the initiative as they took to the streets carrying posters and shouting slogans to sensitize people towards the harmful effects of tobacco use and its life threatening effects. MRDC students also performed a Nukkad Natak in front of Govt Hospital, Faridabad to further reinforce the anti tobacco message.
Khushi Program
Department of Public Health Dentistry initiated a program named “Khushi” for providing dental care to the disabled section of the society on 18th April 2017. The program was started on the occasion of the birthday of our beloved founder Dr. O.P. Bhalla. Muskaan NGO was the first beneficiary of our program. Muskaan is an NGO set up in 1982 under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860. Muskaan is an adult training center for the intellectually disabled, between 16 to 60 years. The NGO collaborate and facilitate creation of an enabling environment and an inclusive society. We provided special care to 150 of these differently abled patients of NGO in Public Health Dentistry Department. Everyday 25 patients arrived in the department. Screening and treatment including scaling, restorations were provided to these patients. Consent for extractions was taken from their caretakers and those who required extraction and other surgical procedures were sent to other departments as well. Along with their dental care, blood group and hemoglobin were checked of all the patients from NGO. We and our students interacted with them and dental health education was given to these patients regarding proper tooth brushing technique, oral hygiene and role of nutrition in oral health. A list of all the patients requiring consent for further treatment was given to the caretakers of the NGO. All the patients and caretaker felt very satisfied and happy after getting the treatment.