Oral health challenges remain high in Southeast Asia, expert says

During a keynote speech she held last week on the occasion of the annual Research Day organised by the University of Washington's (UW) School of Dentistry in Seattle in the US, Dr Waranuch Pitipha pointed out that many people in the region still lack access to adequate dental care.

In addition, infection control in dental clinics as well as distribution of health care workers such as dentists is still highly inadeguate, she said. She urged dental students to consider global oral health in their research agenda.

Research Day is an annual event held by the UW School of Dentistry to recognise its standing as a national leader in dental research. Besides Dr Pitipha, this year's event also saw participation by UW staffers Dr Tim DeRouen, Dr Christy McKinney and Dr Carey Farquhar.


Harvard-educated Dr Pitipha who is currently working as principal for Khon Kaen University, an international recognised school of higher educatiuon in Thailand, has been cooperating with UW for five years in order to train oral health clinical researchers. The programme which also includes Thammasat University in Bangkok recently received a million dollar grant from the US National Unstitute of Health to continue operations for another five years.

Source: www.dental-tribune.com