Three concerned groups on Wednesday, organised an enlightenment campaign for pupils of LEA Primary School, Gbagalape, FCT, Abuja on maintenance of good oral hygiene.
The sensitisation was conducted by the Centre for School Health Education and Environmental Hygiene (CSHEEH), in partnership with the Nigerian Dental Association (NDA), FCT and Unilever
Speaking, the Executive Director of CSHEEH, Dr Momoh Olusola, said that poor oral health hygiene had severely affected our wellbeing as individuals, adding that oral hygiene should be integrated into school lessons.
The Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 estimated that oral diseases affect close to 3.5 billion people worldwide, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
According to Olusola, the theme for the 2022 World Oral Health Day “be proud of your mouth” is about having a healthy mouth and not a perfect one.
She said: “The World Oral Health Day is marked annually on March 20 and provides a platform to make a difference in the lives of people everywhere.
“Poor oral health affects nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide and has far reaching consequences, yet people tend not to realize the severe impact an unhealthy mouth can have on their total well-being.
“It can cause significant pain and suffering, affecting what you eat, how you speak and even your self esteem if left unattended to.”
Olusola said that the significance of the celebration was to tell everyone to take meaningful action to help end the neglect of global oral health.
“We want people to value and take care of their oral health and to make the right decisions to protect it.
“We are calling on schools and teachers to integrate oral health into school lessons and help empower children to practice healthy behavior now and in the future,” Olusola said.
Also speaking, Dr Olatunji Abdulkarim, a consultant orthodontist at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) said that there was a need to bridge the gap left by many Nigerian dental doctors who accepted offers and better opportunities outside the country.
NAN reports that orthodontist is a dentist trained to diagnose, prevent, and treat teeth and jaw irregularities.
According to Abdulkarim, who is also the NDA President, FCT, Nigeria has about 3,500 registered dental doctors to cater for more than 200 million Nigerians.
“As human beings, we have tissues covering the mouth and it needs to be healthy, if the mouth is not clean, the rest of the body will be unhealthy, because you feed through the mouth.
“Meanwhile, whatever you put in the mouth will go into your body with all the dirt in your mouth.
“We should brush twice a day, when we wake and when we are about retiring to bed, taking special care of the tongue in particular,” he said.
Highlight of the event was the distribution of toothpaste, tooth brushes and enlightenment materials to all the pupils and staff of the school.
NAN also reports that the pupils were taken through various training sessions on how to take good care of their oral health and safety on the use of toothbrushes (NAN)