DENTISTRY OPENED TO PROVIDE BETTER OROFACIAL SERVICES
The School of Face and Mouth Studies at the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (MNUMS) opened its new Hospital for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Chingeltei District on April 19. The opening ceremony was attended by Minister of Health A.Tsogtsetseg, President of MNUMS G.Batbaatar, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports B.Bayarsaikhan, and MNUMS professors and students.
“The School of Face and Mouth Studies has a history of 55 years. The school commissioned its main building in 2011. In less than a year, we have built the new hospital with sheer hard work and effort. This hospital is now the largest hospital for oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) in Mongolia,” President G.Batbaatar stated in his opening remark.
The Hospital for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery has six floors, covering a total of 1,650 square meters of area, and is capable of treating up to 50 patients simultaneously, according to President G.Batbaatar. Patients can receive dental implant surgery, speech and language therapy, and any other type of oral surgery at the newly opened hospital.
Minister of Health A.Tsogtsetseg noted, “The state follows a policy which specifies that measures aimed to prevent oral and maxillofacial pathology must be taken in steps in the next 10 years. For instance, we need to develop preventive social health assistance and services of all stages. We have released age-specific health screening recommendations already.”
More than 500 students are studying OMFS at the School of Face and Mouth Studies of the MNUMS. The school board highlighted that the new hospital will become a valuable property where students can apply their knowledge and skills to real challenges and become better surgeons and doctors. Reportedly, the hospital will accept patients regardless of which district they’re registered under.
Professor N.Purevjav gave a brief interview about common dental problems in Mongolia during the opening ceremony on April 19.
Can you tell us about common dental problems in Mongolia?
In Mongolia, 97 percent of the population have some kind of dental problem. Dental disorders have spread like a plague. Numerous studies have been conducted to identify common dental diseases among children, young adolescents and elderly people.
One of the major roles the School of Face and Mouth Studies at MNUMS is in charge of is scientific research. We’ve done plenty of research to determine the current situation but the burden of oral diseases and other chronic diseases isn’t decreasing.
Why is that so?
One of the reasons is because there’s an urgent need to completely change the Ministry of Health’s policy for oral and maxillofacial pathology and its healthcare services. The nation’s dental and oral health problems will not improve unless the policy is changed.
The School of Face and Mouth Studies has opened a new hospital for 30 to 40 people. This is a huge investment. This is the second hospital for OFMS built in Mongolia. The first one was based at the Children’s Polyclinic in 1986 but it had too much workload. Even now, it still doesn’t have a proper building and instead, rents.
It’s said that dental problems lead to other diseases. What happens if a person delays treatment for a dental disease?
Gum diseases can cause various health complications. Starting from the heart, lungs, kidney, stomach, joints, and nervous system, there’s not a single organ it does not affect. Teeth infections are passed onto all organs through the vein.