In 1983, when dentists from The Forsyth Institute were invited by the Kuwait government to develop an oral health care and education program for children, they had no idea that it would evolve into the primary source of dental care for young Kuwaitis.
"We started out in Kuwait the same way we started out in the United States," says Dr. Pramod Soparkar, who has been with the program since its inception. "We wanted to stop children from suffering the pain of cavities and decay."
Today, with the School Oral Health Program entering its twenty-fifth year of operation, approximately 260,000 children in all Kuwaiti governorates are enrolled. The program is staffed by more than 400 professionals and supported entirely by the government. And its success is evidenced by the healthy smiles of a generation of Kuwaitis.
"Our goal in Kuwait is not just oral health treatment," explains Dr. Soparkar. "It's also education and prevention – not just for oral infections, but for systemic diseases that we can link to oral disease."
Beyond significantly reducing cavities among Kuwaitis, the program has greatly contributed to Forsyth's larger mission of improving human health and wellness.
"By studying a large population over a long period of time, we have amassed valuable oral health information about this population," says Dr. Soparkar. "As a next step, we can start identifying the clues, or markers, of impending systemic disorders. For example, we may search for a marker in saliva that we can connect to diabetes – something that tells us this person is at risk to develop diabetes. Once the connection is established, it will help us screen people for this marker and identify those who are at risk for diabetes with a simple oral exam. Ideally, these potential diabetics can then begin an early prevention plan that will help them ward off the disease."
In Kuwait, the high incidence of diabetes – one of the highest in any country worldwide – has caused it to be called an epidemic. "We will partner with researchers studying diabetes in Kuwait," says Dr. Soparkar, "and this will complement our work in controlling cavities in the children there. The mouth is the gateway to the body. If we can recognize a problem in the mouth before it manifests in the system, then we may be able to stop the disease from emerging altogether."
Similarly, the program's dentists in Kuwait may also begin examining markers for other systemic illnesses, such as heart disease, kidney problems, and osteoporosis.
Like Forsyth's American-based ForsythKids program, the Kuwaiti version treats some children right in their schools. Forsyth dentists and hygienists also staff clinics that run from early in the morning until late in the evening, and children are often bussed to the clinics from their schools. Even on holidays, at least one clinic is always open for emergency services. Beyond dental care, the program also provides classroom education about oral health as well as preventive care.
"Our next challenge," explains Dr. Soparkar, "is to reach children ages 3 and under with a new prevention program. Many children in Kuwait have a lot of cavities by age 5, before they even enter kindergarten and enroll in our program. If we can start preventing those cavities at an earlier age, we are truly fulfilling our goals."
