By Juliet Aguiar DUGBARTEY
Gold Fields Ghana Foundation in partnership with Pepsodent Ghana have sensitised over 2,000 school children at Damang in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality on oral care.
The objective is to increase children’s awareness and adoption of healthy oral health behaviours, aiming to improve their oral hygiene knowledge and practices.
The sensitisation focused on songs and demonstrations on how to brush the teeth and take care of one’s individual oral health.
Distribution of oral kits were received by all the school children, including branded mathematical sets and rain coats from Pepsodent Ghana, among others.
Why oral care screening
Mrs. Ayishetu Mohammed Aubynn, Project Coordinator at Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, explained: “Discussions with dentists indicate that there a lot of referral cases on oral health in the area”.
So, she said they decided to organise oral screening and education on preventive healthcare for school children from the nursery to the junior high school level in the operational area; namely: Nana Amoakwa Model School, Damang Roman Catholic School and Damang Municipal Assembly Basic School.
“We have also joined other institutions across the world to celebrate World Oral Health Day on the theme ‘A happy mouth is a happy mind’”.
This exercise, according to Mrs. Aubynn, will be organised annually to ensure that majority of the school children understands the need for oral health so they, in turn, educate their family members and friends.
Oral care awareness
Cleaning, polishing and extractive of the teeth were done by a group of dentists.
Victor Paintsil, Dental Surgeon at the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital, pointed out that six out of every kid screened had one or a number of cavities in their mouth.
“If not attended to could grow into complications that would bring them to the hospital. If they are not careful, they will spend a huge amount or it could result in death,” he added.
These cavities, he explained, are as a result of diet in food that contains sugar and sweets. “If you eat this sugar – whether in the raw form or sugar contained in beverages, with sweets and confectionaries – and you don’t brush your teeth well, at the end of the day the germs in your mouth also feed on it.”
He was not happy on the sale of carbonated drinks and sweets at schools and churches. Children should be given fruits such as banana, oranges, pineapple, apple, among others.
He said the exercise was a public health intervention and commended Gold Fields Ghana Foundation and Pepsodent Ghana for the support.
Glenn Abraham-Ampoma, Oral Care Brand Manager of Unilever, said: “We decided to partner with the foundation because it aligns with our social mission.
“We want them to have oral care tips right from their infancy. It is good to catch these children young so they will be able to inform their family and friends,” he said.
He said: “Our Pepsodent kids we are introducing to these kids is built with sugar acid formulation to protect their teeth and prevent cavities”.
