Fujitsu CHRO Hiramatsu Experiences Preventive Dentistry! ~Fujitsu Accelerates Preventive Dentistry Initiatives to Maintain and Improve Employee Oral Health~

Hello! This is Sato from the Fujitsu Public Relations and IR Department.

In this era of the 100-year life, we are flooded with health-related information on how to extend our healthy life expectancy, but what do you pay attention to in your daily life?

At the Fujitsu Group, we consider our people to be our most important capital, and we are focused on creating an environment where all employees can work energetically while being healthy in both mind and body. We are promoting initiatives aimed at maintaining and improving employee health and realizing well-being, such as health education on preventing cancer, headaches, and back pain, as well as a bone health promotion project*1.

*1 Bone Health Promotion Project: A first-of-its-kind initiative by a Japanese company. It utilizes chest X-rays during employee health checkups to perform bone assessments, leading to the early detection of osteoporosis.

In recent years, it has become clear that oral health can be linked to systemic diseases. In addition to the conventional age-based dental checkups, the Fujitsu Group has been holding preventive dentistry awareness seminars since 2023 and has renewed the dentistry department at the Fujitsu Clinic into a preventive-type dental clinic. Furthermore, starting today, January 26, we are launching an e-learning program titled "Health Promotion Starting with Teeth and Mouth" for approximately 70,000 domestic employees to maintain and improve their oral health.

Expanding preventive dentistry initiatives to maintain and improve employee oral and dental health
(Press release dated January 26, 2024)

Today, we will introduce how Fujitsu's CHRO (Chief Human Resource Officer), Hiramatsu, experienced the preventive dentistry at the Fujitsu Clinic in December 2023.

What exactly do you do in preventive dentistry?

In September 2023, the Fujitsu Clinic's dental department renewed its clinical style to emphasize prevention in addition to treatment. It adopted the Medical Treatment Model (MTM)*2 and significantly revamped both the necessary hardware equipment and software aspects.

*2 Medical Treatment Model (MTM): A model that incorporates the "medical treatment" perspective—monitoring treatment results and continuously taking measures to prevent recurrence—into the specific clinical flow of dental care. It involves understanding the patient's oral and dental issues, performing examinations if necessary, removing the causes of disease, and alleviating symptoms. After conditioning the oral environment, treatment is performed as needed, followed by maintenance to keep the mouth in good condition.

This time, the experience followed the flow below.

Experience Overview

1. Filling out the medical questionnaire
Before the examination, patients use their smartphones or other devices to fill out information about their reason for visiting, self-care status, and lifestyle habits via the web questionnaire function of the "Fujitsu Preventive Dentistry Cloud Service*3".
*3 "Fujitsu Preventive Dentistry Cloud Service": A preventive dental cloud service that digitizes oral conditions and allows dental clinics and patients to securely share data.

2. Explanation of clinical policy
The doctor explains the clinical policy and the importance of prevention.

3. Various examinations (risk assessment)
・Examine and record the oral cavity, including the presence of cavities and the condition of the gums.
・A dental hygienist takes standardized intraoral photographs using a dedicated camera.
・Measure the quantity and quality of saliva through a saliva test.
(Saliva test results require a few days for sample cultivation, etc., and will be provided at a later date.)

4. Explanation of results
・A dental hygienist carefully explains the test results and the condition of the oral cavity.
・Using the "Fujitsu Preventive Dentistry Cloud Service," the questionnaire and test results are entered to visualize the susceptibility to cavities on a radar chart. This is then used to explain how to improve self-care in the future (oral information from various tests is registered in the service, allowing patients to check and review it on their own smartphones, etc.).

Experience Report

The content of this experience was designed to allow one to feel the difference between the conventional dental clinical style and the clinical style emphasized by the Fujitsu Clinic Dental Department, which focuses on prevention and maintenance.
To check the condition of the teeth, images taken inside the mouth with a dedicated camera were displayed on a monitor in the examination room for explanation. In addition, for the tooth cleaning, to help the patient realize the effectiveness, the teeth were photographed with a pen camera to confirm the difference before and after the procedure.
Through these efforts, we experienced the unique methods of the Fujitsu Clinic Dental Department, which are designed to deepen interest in one's own oral and dental health and encourage active participation in prevention.

After the experience (Hiramatsu's comments)

I didn't really pay much attention to my own dental health unless I had a toothache. I think that when the condition of your teeth is visualized digitally, as it is with this preventive dentistry initiative, you naturally become more conscious of your dental health.

I would like to enjoy continuing my daily self-care while regularly monitoring my diagnostic results and advice on my smartphone.

Conclusion

The Fujitsu Group is not only renovating the Fujitsu Clinic Dental department but will also conduct e-learning for all domestic Fujitsu Group employees from January to August 2024. We will continue to strengthen our health management initiatives to improve employee well-being, and contribute to solving social issues through the provision of solutions such as the "Fujitsu Preventive Dentistry Cloud Service".

Column: Comments from Dr. Fukui, Chief of the Fujitsu Clinic Dental Department

・Comments from Dr. Fukui
Periodontal disease is also called a silent disease because it is difficult to notice the symptoms. Although there are individual differences, it is caused by insufficient plaque control, and the risk of progression increases due to smoking, obesity, diabetes, stress, and other factors. In fact, this periodontal disease is the number one cause of tooth loss in Japanese people.
If you visit a dental clinic for preventive purposes before problems occur and receive regular maintenance, you might be able to avoid periodontal disease altogether. When visiting a dental clinic, I recommend choosing one that will carefully explain the condition of your mouth and the plaque control methods that are right for you.

・Dr. Fukui's Recommended Products
It is preferable to use toothpaste containing fluoride, which has a high cavity prevention effect. Our department uses these types of dental-exclusive products. Recently, you can also get toothpaste with high-concentration fluoride at drugstores, so I think it would be good to give them a try.

In addition, Fujitsu Clinic strives to raise awareness of the importance of preventive dentistry by introducing maintenance guidance and MTM treatment details in leaflets to support a rich life by protecting oral health throughout one's lifetime.

■Related Links
Expanding preventive dentistry initiatives to maintain and improve employee oral and dental health