By Henry Uche
Experts in the health profession are advocating for proper care of the teeth from cradle stage of one’s life as most illnesses emanate from improper care of the mouth.
They also urged Nigerians to carry out preventive measures against cancer disease and visit the hospital for appropriate advise as cancer is one of the top killer diseases globally.
Speaking at the 20th anniversary and Public Lecture of SS Dental Clinic Ltd, the Chief Operating Officer of the clinic, Yetunde Oladejo, said it was high time Nigerian people paid greater attention to their oral health especially parents with infants.
According to her, the same way we pay attention to other forms of health issues in other parts of our body, we should also give priority to our oral health and keep every appointment with a dentist.
“Teachers and parents alike should begin to check the teeth of children regularly every morning and evening, the way it was done many years ago. The for point of contact with one another is the mouth, when people perceive unpleasant smell from your mouth, you can imagine how they look at you, but if people around you feel good smell from your mouth, they would like communicating with you. Overall, it’s good to keep a healthy mouth just as we play attention to other parts of our body. You can imagine the pains people who suffer tooth or teeth problems especially when eating” she stressed.
Similarly, the National Director/CEO, Sickle Cell Foundation- Nigeria, Dr. Annette Akinsete, charged everyone member in a family to be involved in dental hygiene, noting that the condition of the teeth goes a long way to determine the overall health of any any human being, hence the need to keep the teeth not only clean in appearance but very healthy for use.
“Preventive measures is better than seeking cure. When a child is very young, he or she should be taken care of. As the initial teeth start coming up, the whole family should be involved including the child, he or she must be taught how to take care of the teeth because they grow up with it. Early detection is key, most sicknesses is found first from the mouth. So dentist should be consulted whenever necessary” she maintained.
On her part, a health enthusiast and educationist, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, implored Nigerians to ensure regular screening for cancer as it’s ideal for everyone, instead of running around when cancer is already developed. “Early detection is key. We should make effort to go for regular screening and maintain a very healthy lifestyle always” she implored.
More so, the Founder, Marcelle Ruth Cancer & Specialist Hospital, Dr (Mrs) Modupe Elebute – Odunsi, who was the guest speaker, reiterated the need for accurate data/ record keeping of drugs, medical personnel, facilities and hospital equipment, number of patients of different ailments and other relevant data/information in Nigerian health facilities and institutions for proper planning, informed decision making and even policy design.
“Data is key. We need it for planning, informed decision making and even policy design. If we don’t know the exact number of drugs, number of patients, facilities and equipment as well as medical personnel in our respective health facilities, how can we make headway in our health sector? So our public health facilities from primary level to tertiary level should have accurate data for end users to work with” she admonished.
