Smile Express - Integrated Dental Health Project

India is primarily a rural community with 72.2% of its population being the village occupants and the rest 27.8% are residents of an urban area. In perspective of oral health, most of the Indian populace is affected with the common oral problems like periodontal disease being 90-95% followed by dental caries affecting nearly 60-80% of children, malocclusion about 30% and oral cancer which accounts for almost 30-35% of the total diagnosed cancer cases. Hence oral problems are considered to be one of the few categories of diseases emerging as a public health problem in India. There is a lack of access to cost-effective and quality oral health care facilities, particularly in rural areas. The problem is aggravated as there is lack of information and awareness about oral health hygiene and failure in implementation of national oral health policy. There is a lack of access to cost-effective and quality oral health care facilities, particularly in rural areas. The problem is aggravated as there is lack of information and awareness about oral health hygiene and failure in implementation of national oral health policy. Tobacco abuse is further causing menace for not only the poor and disadvantaged but also civilized population. Early initiation of tobacco habits in children is causing havoc in terms of morbidity and mortality of our younger generations. In a country like India where the total annual economic costs of bidi smoking amount to approximately 0.5% of India’s gross domestic product, while the excise tax revenue from bidi is only half a percent of its economic costs. The direct medical costs of bidi smoking amount to 2.24% of total health expenditure. Since the poor bear a disproportionately large share of the economic costs of bidi smoking, the unregulated use of bidi would potentially push more households in India, which incur heavy out-of-pocket expenditures on healthcare, into poverty.

Smile Express is an initiative by Oral Health Promotion Foundation, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting oral health, awareness with a focus on children and vulnerable populations. OHPF collaborates with national, state, and local partners to develop innovative community-based strategies for improving oral health outcomes. It has been dedicated to the vision of Oral Health for All.

Mobile Dental Van has been envisaged to provide preventive, promotive and curative health care in rural areas, which are underserved or remote areas under usual circumstances. The primary goal of the program is to increase the access and utilization of dental care at grass root levels and also create awareness among the community along with establishing Oral health Data to understand the pattern of dental disease and community-oriented strategies for better dental Health Outcomes. Mobile and portable dentistry is our approach to deliver oral health-care in the Rural Area. This Hybrid system is hybrid of a fixed site dental clinic and a mobile van model, in which portable equipment are loaded. The portable dental services generally less expensive, more accessible and less susceptible to mechanical difficulties can increase the awareness of the practicing dental community, Mobile and portable dental units are an effective and efficient way to take the sophisticated dental services to the doorsteps of the rural masses, school premises and urban slums areas. It Consists of Semi Electrically Operated Dental Chair, Mount Unit, One Airotor Point, one Micromotor Point And Three Way Syringe, Low and High Pneumatic Suction and Pneumatic Stool.

• Oral Health Promotion Foundation is Registered Not –For Profit Sec 8 Company which is established in the year 2016. We are committed to improving Oral Public Health by Promoting advanced science-based dentistry that puts the patient at the center through our initiatives in education, research, and development of high standards’ for dental care in India.
• We are the flag bearer of oral health in rural areas; our main purpose is to provide dental care to every strata of Society without Any barriers of Socioeconomic Status. We acknowledge that Oral Health is an integral Part of general Health and Well Being.
• We are working on Framework of establishment Of National Level Organization to Collaborate with State and Local Partner to develop Community Based Strategy to Solve Oral Health Issues.
• Our Vision is to improve Oral Health and healthy Life and Achieving Oral Health for All. We also aim to represent the dental Professional, Front Line Oral Health Workers and Support Members (Being Dentist Community) in the Provision of affordable, Comprehensive and quality Oral Health Care.
• Our Mission to promoting oral Health Awareness; we are conducting Screening & Treatment on regular basis to improve Oral Health Outcomes.
• We are also working actively in promoting oral health, tobacco Cessation and early cancer detection to improve the quality of Life and eliminate oral health disparities. Our mission is Oral Health for All.

OHPF Endeavors to accomplish its Mission of oral health for all by

-Conducting Regular Oral Health Checkup Camps in Villages and Schools to Raise Awareness.

-To build a Community of Dedicated Dental Health Professional (Being Dentist) who can help in achieving Oral health For All.

-To Provide Training to Front Line Health Workers for oral health and Hygiene.

-Preventing oral Disease by promoting oral health through awareness and dissemination of Information.

-Promoting the recent knowledge gained from research to improve public health by educating Oral Health Professional and Policy Makers.

-Advocacy with Government sector to raise a voice for oral health disparities.