Continuous professional development and awareness have always been one of the efforts to provide information and allow two-way communication between various fields of medicine and healthcare professionals. Amidst the pandemic, the past two years have been a challenging battle for conferences and talks to be done face to face. However, as we enter the endemic phase in Malaysia, the Clinical Pathological Conference (CPC) Team of Universiti Teknologi MARA has taken the step to conduct the CPC session via a hybrid method, physical and online.
On the 21st of September 2022, the Faculty of Dentistry Universiti Teknologi MARA, represented by the Centre of Periodontology Studies, was invited to present a talk. It was held at the newly launched state-of-the-art Hospital Al-Sultan Abdullah in Puncak Alam, Selangor. The CPC talk was held at its auditorium, which allows social distancing whenever necessary. There were close to 120 participants who attended the talk physically and online from all backgrounds, such as medical students, dental students, medical, pharmacy and dental specialists in various fields of specialities, and other supporting medical healthcare professionals.
The topic highlighted during the CPD talk was Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and its Relation to Periodontal Disease, with a presentation entitled: “Gum and Glucose: The gloomy truth”. The topic was chosen to be showcased during the CPC talk to create awareness and encourage healthcare professionals at various levels regarding the existence of the bidirectional relationship between these two “silent diseases” that was also one of the causes of the current global economic burden in healthcare.
Centre for Periodontology Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA was represented by the Head of Department, Dr Mohd Faizal Hafez Hidayat, and two other senior members; Dr Farha Ariffin and Dr Muhammad Hilmi Zainal Ariffin; who firstly provided the information on what is the periodontology speciality, that involves in the care of the gum and its supporting structure, the information regarding stages of periodontal disease development, how it occurs in an individual, followed by the sharing of two clinical cases that presented with both diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease.
The presenters also highlighted the input on the latest Clinical Practise Guideline 2020 by the Ministry of Health Malaysia on managing DM. The evidence that dental and periodontal problems are common in patients with DM with a long-established bi-directional influence was also shared. Thus, paying attention to addressing one disease may produce a benefit to the other. The session summarises an important point regarding the value of referral from medical peers for DM patients seen, as well as the advice to have regular oral examinations.