Dany Daou
Assistant Chief of Clinics, department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Lebanese University
Dr. Daou graduated as Dental Surgeon from Saint Joseph University in 1999 and specialized in Dental public Health in 2011 from the Lebanese University (LU). He performed a Master in Public Health focused on health promotion and education in 2014 at LU. Dr Daou was an instructor at Balamand University in the health promotion program and a guest lecturer at American University of Beirut and Haygazian University. As Faculty member at the faculty of Dental Medicine at LU since 2011 he teaches in both under and postgraduate programs. Dr. Daou is very active in public health projects and he has delivered trainings and lectures worldwide in more than 22 countries.
Lecture title: School Based Dental Sealant Program
Lecture abstract: Data from the WHO Global Oral Data Bank indicate that dental caries index among Lebanese children has worsened over the last decades. Although chronic diseases are among the most common and costly of all health problems, they are also among the most preventable. The children who are most at risk for dental diseases are those who are least likely to see a dentist. Moreover, the children who are of low-income status are in greatest need of community based preventive interventions.
The lack of access to preventive dental services, such as dental sealants, can be a major barrier to optimal dental health. School-based dental sealant programs are an important and effective public health approach in promoting the oral health of children and adolescents.
The Faculty of Dental Medicine at the Lebanese University, the NGO Ajialouna and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education implemented a school-based dental sealant program from 2010 to 2017 in order to reach children from low-income families who are less likely to receive private dental care. The program targeted higher risk public schools in Beirut in order to reach higher risk children in a practical and effective approach for increasing sealant prevalence among this population. In this program, around 1450 children benefited from more than 5000 sealants.
This presentation will describe the school based dental sealant project outlining the various results and recommendations.
