Even fruit juices, which are generally considered a healthy option, can contain high levels of sugar. Nicole Hill / The National
Even fruit juices, which are generally considered a healthy option, can contain high levels of sugar. Nicole Hill / The National
Even fruit juices, which are generally considered a healthy option, can contain high levels of sugar. Nicole Hill / The National
Even fruit juices, which are generally considered a healthy option, can contain high levels of sugar. Nicole Hill / The National

Health

Tooth decay is on the increase

Almost two thirds of 15 to 17-year-olds have tooth cavities, while 80 per cent of 12 to-15-year-olds suffer from gum problems.

Nick Webster
Nick Webster

July 21, 2017

  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // Almost two thirds of 15 to 17-year-olds have tooth cavities, while 80 per cent of 12 to-15-year-olds suffer from gum problems, a dental survey of more than 5,500 youngsters from across Dubai has found.
Screening of students at 47 government and private schools revealed alarming levels of dental problems, with instances of tooth decay in 5 to 7-year-olds more than six times worse than levels in the UK and Denmark.
Dubai Health Authority dentists and hygienists carried out screening programmes and clinical examinations of 5,617 students aged 5 to 17, with the results prompting a call for an improved dental care and education programme.
"We were expecting these results after seeing the number of children with bad teeth visiting us," said Dr Hamda Al Mesmar, DHA dental services director. "What was surprising was discovering many children did not brush their teeth at all. Of those who do brush, some did not know how to do it correctly.
"Poor dental care is mainly a result of bad habits that have been passed down.
"When we asked parents about what their children drank, many said they gave them juices instead of fizzy drinks," Dr Al Mesmar said. "But we explained fruit drinks are also very high in sugar. Parents think it is OK. That's where the role of health education comes in."
Training for school nurses will be improved where necessary through specialist programmes on dental hygiene.
Students aged 5 to 7 at schools in Deira, Bur Dubai, Lusaily and Hatta had, on average, 3.8 instances each of decayed, missing, or filled teeth - known as the DMF index. On average children of the same age in North Africa and the Middle East scored 1.9, while in the UK, figures from 2013 show DMF applies to just 0.6 children, with the same number for Denmark in 2012.
In 2011, children in Qatar scored 1.6, while children in Oman scored 1.3 in 2006.
The DHA aims to reduce the DMF index in children aged 5 to 7 to just 0.6 before 2020.
It is hoped the ambitious goal will be achieved through changing habits thanks to better education and prevention sessions.
Engineer Essa Al Maidoor, director-general of the DHA, said such surveys were vital to assess a population's health needs.
"We can base our policies on evidence-based data and benchmark ourselves internationally," he said.
Mobile dental screening clinics will visit schools and nurseries twice a year to make regular assessments and offer advice.
Experts at the three-day International Dental Conference in Dubai said dental problems would only get worse as individuals age, placing more importance on taking action now.
"The level of resources and intervention from a public health and clinical perspective is inconsistent in our region," said Jawad Behbehani, dentistry professor at Kuwait University. "In some Arab countries the vast majority of children are suffering from a problem that we know how to stop. Tooth decay deserves greater attention. [It is] an important health issue."
nwebster@thenational.ae

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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