This introduction will cover the reason why I want to establish this campaign, and the initial objectives of the campaign so far. I am Mahir Ahmed. 18, currently taking a gap year. I have applied for dental school, and starting September 2015 I hope to begin my journey pursuing a career in dentistry. I was first introduced to the prospect of dentistry in Bangladesh. Whilst shadowing the dentist there, I was surprised to discover that dental care in developing countries was considered a luxury. I became grateful of the system we have here in the UK, which ensures accessibility to quality dental treatment. Oral related issues are responsible for a surpass amount of deaths worldwide per year, and thus the shortage of dentists, as well as the inaccessibility of dental care in some countries must be tackled. This is paramount to improving the standard of living worldwide. The objective of this campaign, creatively named Dental Care Access, is to facilitate the improvement and awareness required to ensure dental care accessibility improves on a global scale. This is the ultimate goal, and some may even say it is very ambitious. With time and hard work, anything is possible. The first objective is to raise awareness of the importance of dental care here in the UK. Despite the accessibility to dental care under the NHS, there is still a large percentage of the population with a lot of oral issues, such as cavities, which could be prevented had there been greater awareness of these issues as well as less people being negligent to go to the dentists. There are people in the UK who are unaware of the financial assistance they can get through the NHS, such as the NHS Low Income Scheme, which in turn deters them from visiting a dentist and incurring large costs. Thus, it is important to stress the importance of oral hygiene in an attempt to repair these issues in our own country first, before taking this globally. I plan on creating leaflets containing information regarding the importance of dental care, as well as making people aware of the accessibility of dental treatments through the NHS, detailing information such as the NHS Low Income Scheme for people who are not exempt from charges. If you are interested in expanding this campaign, and in helping me to run it then please email me on mahir_ahmed1@live.co.uk Share this blog post with your friends, families, and health professionals and organisations. Mahir Ahmed
Dental Access Worldwide 