Children make up nearly half the patients at dental clinics across the country, according to experts in the field. This large proportion is an indicator that people wrongly tend to prioritise other health concerns over their teeth, the experts inferred, and parents must therefore pay greater attention to their children\'s oral hygiene. Speaking at the first Internal Dental Conference held in Abu Dhabi, Dr Vera Tang, assistant director of pre-doctoral periodontics at the New York University College of Dentistry, said: \"A decline in oral health is especially worrying because of recent discoveries that show dental health is intricately linked to other major health concerns, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, renal disease, and possibly even chronic conditions like arthritis. \"People need to understand that dental health is just as important as overall health, and it cannot be solved simply by having the teeth taken out.\" The focus of the two-day conference that started yesterday is on the latest advances in dentistry, as well as ways to improve oral health. It is being attended by dentists and oral health experts from the region. Major concerns Speaking to Gulf News on its sidelines, Dr. Yahya Al Rifaai, head of the dental department at Al Noor Hospital on Khalifa Street, said the hospital often saw patients as young as three. \"With people opting to eat more soft foods and neglecting to brush their teeth regularly, dental problems are occurring earlier and earlier. This is especially a problem when children are growing out of their milk teeth because any prior abscesses they have will threaten the health of their permanent teeth in future,\" he said. He added that major dental concerns were also common in children with milk teeth. \"These occur especially when babies not been breastfed. Mothers therefore need to prioritise breastfeeding, especially as other milks create a pH level in the mouth that is unhealthy for early dentition,\" he said. Dentists at the conference also said diabetics and those with a family history of the disease should get their teeth checked regularly. \"Conditions like gum disease not only complicate diabetes but also take much longer to heal in diabetics,\" said Dr. Tang.