Fiji Dental Association president Dr Parikshath Naidu says they have acknowledged that HIV and NCDs are an epidemic crisis.
He told this newspaper in Nadi yesterday “in fact not a lot of people know that NCDs and HIV work with oral health systems”.
“It’s an epidemic crisis that we are facing,” Dr Naidu said.
“Not only the NCDs crisis, but we are also having a new one that has been put out as a gazette alert by the Minister of Health (Dr Ratu) Atonio Lalabalavu, stating that we are now facing a HIV crisis.
“When people do not look after their health, they eat a lot of junk food, and their oral health is affected.
“If the oral health is affected then also the obesity, diabetes and hypertension is affected.
“So, we are now making people understand there is an established based scientific link between oral health and the overall medical health of people.
“With the minister saying there is an epidemic crisis and with NCDs we do acknowledge that, and we hope somehow by looking at the resources that we have, and the plans to solve the current crisis, we will not only be able to tackle NCDs problems at the medical level but also at the dental level as well.”