Doha: The Ministry of Public Health, in cooperation with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)) and Primary Health Care Corporation, has launched the annual national campaign for oral health 2024, which will continue throughout September, under the slogan (Your teeth are the gateway to your health). The ministry said that the main focus of the campaign is the importance of caring for oral and dental health among all members of Qatari society, noting that the campaign aims to raise awareness among all members of society, such as children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly, and to establish the concept of (a healthy mouth in a healthy body) and change negative habits that affect oral and dental health, such as (smoking, consumption of foods and drinks full of sugar) and increase awareness about the importance of daily care for oral health. The ministry added that the campaign also aims to encourage a healthy diet to have a healthy mouth and teeth by reducing the percentage of sugar in foods and drinks and follow ing a healthy diet, with the aim of reducing the rate of tooth decay in children. It revealed that the percentage of tooth decay among children in the 2017 national survey for ages 4 to 8 years reached approximately 85 percent, in addition to reducing the spread of oral and dental diseases, and correcting misconceptions about oral and dental health care. The campaign, which is being implemented for the sixth consecutive year, includes the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Ministry of Interior, QatarEnergy, Heart Hospital, Elderly Care Center, Sidra Medicine, Aster Hospital, Ahli Hospital, Turkish Hospital, Doha Clinic Hospital, Al Emadi Hospital, Aman Hospital, and The View Hospital. The campaign is part of the outputs of the National Oral and Dental Health Committee and includes the publication of educational awareness publications about oral and dental health in general, through the social media platforms of the Ministry of Public Health and the social platforms of health sector partners, in ad dition to display screens at the public entrances of government and private hospitals and health centers, throughout the month of the event. The campaign also includes delivering virtual awareness lectures on the importance of oral health to all ministries and institutions in the country to spread awareness and education about oral health, with the aim of reaching the largest possible number of community members in the State of Qatar through specialized dentists from the Ministry of Public Health employees, in addition to spreading awareness and education among school students about the importance of taking care of oral health. During the campaign, an awareness event will be organized targeting all students of Qatar Foundation in the last week of September under the slogan (Your teeth are the gateway to your health). The event aims to introduce students to the National Oral Health Campaign and the importance of taking care of oral and dental health in general. The Ministry of Public Health has begun organ izing various awareness and educational workshops since 2023 for medical and paramedical staff who communicate directly or indirectly with the elderly in the government and private sectors. Source: Qatar News Agency