Gum Health Day 2019: Azerbaijan – activities in nursing home and universities

The Azerbaijani Society of Periodontology celebrated Gum Health Day with a wide range of activities.

Members of the society visited a nursing home for the elderly in Bilgah, where they diagnosed more than 250 pensioners and gave them information about their oral-health problems and the treatments required.

The residents were told how to prevent caries and gum disease, about the relationship between periodontitis and diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. They were also given oral-care products and instructions on the proper cleaning and care of removable dental prostheses. This activity was supported by GlaxoSmithKline Azerbaijan.

Society president Cavid Ahmedbeyli and vice-president Rahim Garayev gave an all-day seminar that highlighted Gum Health Day – “Prevention, early diagnostics and treatment of periodontal diseases in diabetes patients” – to dentists involved in the continuing-education programmes in periodontology at the Azerbaijan State Advanced Training Institute for Doctors.

Seminars for undergraduate and postgraduate dental students covering current approaches in the treatment of periodontal diseases were hosted by Ramiz Ahmedbeyli and Aslan Mammadov (the society’s EFP delegate) at the Azerbaijan Medical University Dental School.

Society members carried out free periodontal screenings of almost 150 patients at private and university clinics, also providing them with information about the importance of periodontal health, the prevention of gum disease, and treatment recommendations.

In addition, the Azerbaijani Society of Peridontology issued a press release on the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease and about Gum Health Day, which was distributed via the websites of the main state news agency and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Health.

Previously, the society had translated all the EFP-produced materials (including infographics, posters, and website banners) and shared them via social media with society members, universities, dentists, and medical professionals.

Rustam Aghazada, the society’s Gum Health Day 2019 co-ordinator, thanked “our members, universities, government organizations, dental companies and media for joining us in fighting dental and periodontal disease together in Azerbaijan.”