Over the past few years, a drastic change has been identified in the employees' health, affecting motivation, performance and staff absenteeism. Research has pointed out that thousands of employees take time off due to severe oral health issues, which are preventable if a proper daily oral routine is followed. Many multinational companies have initiated to address the oral health and wellbeing of employees to increase the productivity and commitment of the workforce.

Importance of oral health

A visit to the dentist is an important part of taking care of their oral health and general wellbeing. A mouth acts as a gateway for multiple bacteria and viral agents responsible for general health issues such as cardiovascular problems, lung disease, diabetes, and even bowel cancer. Ignoring proper brushing and gum health maintenance allows the bacteria to build up in the gum pockets leading to bacterial harbouring, increasing the high mortality rate linked to infectious diseases.

Regular checkups are an essential part of health maintenance. Many people suffer from an underlying systematic disease, which remains undiagnosed for many years. Therefore, regular oral checkups are ideal for identifying submerged symptoms as 60% of health risks such as strokes, diabetes, cardiac conditions, respiratory disease and kidney disease are linked to oral health conditions.

What is deterring employees' health?

Survey has found out that less than one in ten workers (7 per cent) receives occupational health information from their employers about the importance of maintaining good oral health (dentalhealth.org). Lack of proper health insurance, dietary habits, work culture and ignorant behaviour are major causes hampering the employees' health. Moreover, stressful meetings, tiresome duty schedules and peer pressure also greatly influence employees' behaviour and instigates unhealthy and harmful practices such as smoking, high sugar intake foods and beverages and addictive dietary habits.

Ways an employer can promote oral health

In such scenarios, employers play an important role in communicating the importance of good oral health to their employees. This includes:

• Regular workshops and sessions to uplift the quality of health care
• Regular dental checkups to promote oral health awareness.
• Proper scheduling of lunch breaks
• Arrangement of staff meals to promote healthy diets
• Discouraging smoking and addictive uses.

Hence, incorporating good health practices as part of corporate policies is best to encourage and promote oral and physical health.