Dr A P J Kalam presented the award toindividual for the contribution towards India’s Oral Health
On the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr R Ahmed, Father of India Dentistry, IDA Foundation, presented the National Oral Healthcare Sushruta Award, to honour individuals in respective fields for their outstanding achievement in the oral healthcare sector. The award was presented by Dr.A P J Abdul Kalam, former President of India.
Dr Kalam while congratulating the award winners said, “Diseases such as dental carries and problems of poor oral hygiene and oral cancer is a major public health issue in India. Also poverty has a negative impact on dental health awareness, attitude and oral hygiene. We need to create awareness about oral health amongst our people. No law, no resolution can improve the oral health of the public unless the patient and dentist work together to share the understanding of importance of oral health and its relationship to overall health.”
Dr Ashok Dhoble, Hon. Secretary General, IDA, said, “ The National Oral Healthcare Sushruta Award give professionals in India a great platform to benchmark their achievements against their peers; giving the award winners a professional boost to perform better and achieve higher. It is not easy to win the Sushruta Award, given the rigorous evaluation process; making the winners true stalwarts in their respective categories.”
The award winners included Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi for outstanding contribution by an individual in promoting oral cancer awareness, Dr Pratibha Athavale for outstanding contribution by an Individual in providing outreach oral healthcare services, Salaam Bombay for utstanding contribution by an NGO in creating oral healthcare awareness, Dentacare Dental Lab, for outstanding contribution by an organisation in providing oral healthcare services, Prime Dental Products for best dental manufacturer, Government Dental College- Mumbai under the leadership of Prof Mansingh Pawar for outstanding contribution by an institution in providing oral healthcare services, Lt General Vimal Arora , DGDS for outstanding contribution by a defence personnel in creating oral healthcare awareness, Prof Dr Rajendrasinh Rathod for Outstanding contribution by an Individual in providing Community Oral Healthcare Services and Dr Prakash Amte for exceptional contribution by an individual to rendering community general and oral healthcare services, Dr Srinath Reddy for outstanding contribution by an individual to tobacco control. The Sushruta Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Dr Praful Diwanji for significant contribution in dentistry.