'Say NO to bleeding gums' was the slogan for Gum Health Day 2020, celebrated worldwide on 12 May.
Professor Andreas Stavropoulos, co-ordinator of Gum Health Day 2020, said that 'Gum Health Day 2020 aims to remind people that gum health is a key factor for general health and wellbeing throughout life, and that gum disease is an important public health issue as it is linked to very serious conditions'.
Gum diseases including gingivitis, periodontitis, and peri-implantitis are still poorly acknowledged by the public, even though scientific evidence shows that they may pose a threat to general health as they are associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, certain forms of cancer, pregnancy complications, erectile dysfunction, and other serious or chronic conditions.
More than 40 countries joined Gum Health Day 2020 - from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Middle East, Asia, and Australasia. The European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) and its affiliated societies organised a wide variety of initiatives - most of them digital because of the COVID-19 pandemic - which include educational videos, publications, social-media campaigns, an Instagram Live session, and other online initiatives.
In the framework of Gum Health Day 2020, the EFP encourages dentists, researchers, and other health-related professionals to sign and disseminate the EFP Manifesto: Perio and General Health, an international call to action for the prevention, early detection, and treatment of gum disease. Individuals and organisations are invited to endorse it by accessing http://www.efp.org/efp-manifesto/ and join the more than 1,100 professionals, dental practices, companies, and universities who have supported it so far.