OREANDA-NEWS. June 21, 2013. Qatar Petroleum’s Medical Services Department recently conducted a series of dental health promotion sessions for the benefit of many students from various schools in the country. 

Under the program entitled “A Lifetime of Healthy Smiles,” the QP dental team visited the Qatar Independent Technical School (QITS) in Doha, the Dukhan English School (DES), the Mesaieed International School (MIS) and Zekreet Arabic School for Girls, where they then held a series of oral health promotion sessions. The main objective of the program was to educate students on proper oral hygiene, thus enabling them to develop good dental health habits that will last a lifetime.

The program was part of QP’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, according to Mr. Ahmad Ali Al-Mawlawi, Director for Administration of QP. Mr. Al-Mawlawi pointed out that the program was in line with the ongoing community outreach programs of QP’s Medical Services Department and was designed to promote proper dental health by providing education, oral care tools and increased access to dental care to the students and their families.

Under the program, the QP dental team -- which comprised of dentists, oral hygienists and dental surgery assistants -- set up a dental hygiene centre in the schools they visited, and they then  conducted dental checks on students and held hands-on oral hygiene sessions using models and interactive sessions. Awareness presentations and one-on-one selective consultations were also held as part of the program.

Dr. Ahmad Al Badran, Acting Medical Services Manager of QP, stated that an integrated health promotion approach by the department delivers benefits for the community by promoting well-being, strengthening community capacity and minimizing the burden of disease. “We are glad to be part of it and are thankful to our directorate’s continued support to such programs,” he said.
 
The oral health awareness program was supported by the Supreme Education Council (SEC) as well as by QP’s Dukhan Operations and Industrial Cities Directorate as it helped the students develop the proper attitudes and habits at an early age for good oral health throughout their life.

A statement from QP’s Medical Services Department said that the dental health program supports the department’s key policy objectives related to the prevention of oral diseases through health promotion and protection programs.