ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION
Donate Oral Hygiene Materials and Advocate for the importance of oral health globally and locally in hopes of bringing about social awareness and policy change and reform
Researching considerable amounts of articles explaining the problems the community faced, motivated me to start this organization myself instead of waiting. Health professionals in India have been asking for help since 2001 and I could not wait after reading some of the statistics and stories online. Oral health care should be taken seriously and although it is a commodity here, simply acquiring a toothbrush in India is a big deal for a child in a poorer community. It took me a good six months to get Muskaan up and running. Throughout my research, I compiled a list of problems expressed by health professionals in India and looked for ways to implement solutions. Muskaan can help some of the issues, but it is certainly not a means to the end. My team and I can advocate for the importance of oral hygiene and spread the word as much as we can here but that only goes so far. We need your support and engagement to truly make a considerable impact. Change must start somewhere and I could not be blessed enough to be able to share my cause with all of you. You have the power to be a huge influencer and this is why I am asking you for help. Please like and subscribe to the Muskaan social media sites. This way, when we are ready to accept donations, you can help be an advocate to encourage others to share this cause as well. Let's change the world one smile at a time!
Even though there are 2500 Universities and over 1500 IT firms in India, about 50% of school children are suffering from dental caries and more than 90% of the adult population is affected by periodontal disease. Why then is there a discrepancy between advancements in education and technology and oral health? The answer is: oral health is largely over-looked. With little access to oral hygiene information and resources, many problems arise. Quacks, street "dentists" remove people's teeth to help them with their pain even though it usually ends up making it worse. But this is the only option, especially for families under the poverty line. If a working man misses a day of work because of his tooth pain, then his family may not be able to eat at night. Increased tobacco use and the rise in diabetes as well as the widening gap between rural all contribute to this lack of oral care. We have recognized these problems now the next step is to ask what we can do about it. It all starts with you.
Our Mission
•Address the Oral care problems in India
•Spread awareness about oral Health
•Give toothbrushes to underprivileged in india (2 components)
•Children
•villages
Problems
•Limited access to oral health care services, as a result teeth are often left untreated or are extracted because of pain or discomfort.
•widening disparities in access to quality care, predominantly in rural areas
•Low on priority list
•Tobacco use still prevalent
•only 10% of dentists where approximately 70% of the Indian population resides
•Negative Stereotypes associated with Dentists, Old treatments and medicines pervading into the future
Dental Quacks
•untrained and unfortunately are seen as reliable. Their treatment tools consist of unsterile screwdrivers and plyers. The infections afterwards from these dental quacks are even more detrimental to the patient than what they originally came in for.
•A child went to a dental quack to get his tooth removed because his family could not afford more. He got the painful tooth extraction. Within the week, he passed away from an infection. This needs to be stopped and Muskaan is taking that first step. A child with a bad headache caused by tooth decay missed school throughout the year. Why should this affect a child’s education? If they had brushed their teeth, more so, if they had the resources, this problem could have been helped.
Statistics: why Limited Access to Oral Hygiene and Oral care is an issue
•dental caries in children aged 5 years was 50%; 52.5% in 12 year olds; 61.4% in 15 year olds; 79.2% in 35-44 year olds; and 84.7% in 65-74 year olds.
•Limited oral Health knowledge leads to poor decisions leading to a rise in the consumption of tobacco and therefore the increase in cancer in young people
•Dental care is only given through private care which makes it only accessible to a few people who can afford it
Consequences (Here is why oral care cannot be ignored)
•26% of the Indian population is living below the poverty line
•dental ailment stopping them from working for one full day
•Leads to serious situations for the rest of the family
•https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4849117/#__ffn_sectitle
•http://mapicha.com/istockphoto-photo/group-of-happy-gypsy-indian-children-desert-village-india-507276910.html
•
•https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3972589/
NEW: Funding Cleft lip/Palate Surgeries
In dental school her D1 year, she started collaborating with Smile Train India and together created a joint project called "Sketches for a Smile". It took months, lots of meetings and documentation, but it January of this year the hard work paid off from both ends. Smile Train is the world's largest nonprofit organization that supports safe and quality cleft care for children enabling them with the opportunity to live full and healthy lives. She hopes to use her passion for craniofacial anatomy and sketching to help fund these life changing surgeries.
|
Oral Care Resources Children and Adults
Donating toothbrushes to makeshift dental clinics throughout India will help make the toothbrush something everyone SHOULD have in their homes. It will be seen as a necessity.
|
Oral Care Education and Awareness
In India, age appropriate pamphlets and videos will be promoted to help encourage proper oral hygiene and healthy care practices. In America, clubs, partnering with dentists and school fundraising will help promote this cause to ultimately further the importance of oral care on a global scale.
|