As a part of the vibrant global campaign to ban mercury in dentistry a plaque of appreciation was awarded to Chattagram International Dental College and Hospital for practicing mercury free dentistry in Bangladesh. The award giving ceremony and also an open forum was jointly organized by Environment and Social Development Organization-ESDO and Bangladesh Dental Society-BDS in association with Asian Center for Environmental Health and World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry at Chattgram International Dental College and Hospital on 28 November, 2017.

Syed Marghub Murshed, Former Secretary of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and Chairperson of ESDO, Dr. Shahriar Hossain, Executive Vice President of World Alliance for Mercury Free Dentistry and Secretary General of ESDO, Dr. Abul Kashem, President of BDS, Dr. Humayun Kabir Bulbul, Secretary General of BDS, Prof. Dr. Muslim Uddin, Principal of Chattagram International Dental College along with the faculties of the college were present at the ceremony. The award ceremony was attended by prominent dentists and academicians.

Syed Marghub Murshed said, “I appreciate the way Chattagram International Dental College has approached towards a mercury free dentistry. Their efforts are praiseworthy. I hope Chattagram International Dental College will act as a role model for other dental colleges in Chittagong.”
Dr. Shahriar Hossain congratulated Chattagram International Dental College and said “European Union (EU) has already banned the use of mercury amalgam in dentistry. Many countries are on the way to ban mercury. But we are still far from achieving our goal. We should work hand in hand to fix this problem as soon as possible.”
Dr. Abul Kashem, President of BDS said, “From the very beginning BDS is working closely with ESDO for establishing mercury free dentistry in Bangladesh. Only the combined effort of all the dentists, academicians and practitioners, dental association and civil society workers can lead to a complete phase out of mercury from dentistry.” Dr. Humayun Kabir Bulbul, Secretary General of BDS Said, “We are glad to institute this award which honors the endeavour of dentists to achieve mercury free dentistry. We aim at phase out of mercury completely from dentistry by 2018 and I hope CIDC will encourage other dental colleges to practice mercury free dentistry”.
Prof. Dr. Muslimuddin Sabuj said that this award ceremony was a great opportunity for their dentists to come together to discuss, network and celebrate the achievement of Chattagram International Dental College. He thanked BDS and ESDO f to give CIDC such warm appreciation.
In line with the mercury free dentistry initiatives of ESDO and BDS in Bangladesh Mandy Dental College, Pioneer Dental College, and Update Dental College were awarded for practicing mercury free dentistry earlier. More and more dentists are practicing mercury free dentistry being aware of the health and environmental impact of mercury dental amalgam. Great progresses are being made in Bangladesh due to the joint initiatives of Bangladesh Dental Society and Civil Society and this continuous trend of being mercury free among the dental colleges will help achieving the goals of global campaign.
The overall goal of the award ceremony and the meeting was to make the dentists and academicians informed of the international movement of Mercury-Free Dentistry. The Specific objectives were to inspire and encourage other dental colleges and dentists to stop using mercury in dentistry for the sake of human health and environmental protection, to promote the benefits and access of non-mercury dental restorative filling materials, to spread the message of the necessity of development of alternatives friendly curriculum and study material that facilitate the subsequent phase out of amalgam related technology and practices.
Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials such as poster, bookmark, sticker, booklet etc. on ‘mercury free dentistry’ were distributed among the participants to disseminate the information in order to create awareness about the issue among them.
Link of News: http://dailyasianage.com/news/97241/mercury-free-dentistry-for-human-health-stressed