Schoolchildren mark World Oral Health Day
About 2,000 basic schoolchildren from Accra were selected to participate in the grand durbar to mark this year’s World Oral Health Day (WOHD) at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre in Accra.
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The event, which was on the theme: “Live mouth smart”, was used to educate children on the proper way to brush their teeth.
As part of the programme of activities, a campaign dubbed the “Little Brush Big Brush” has been designed to promote behavioural change among children by building better tooth brushing habits through fun.
The Managing Director of Unilever Ghana Limited, Yeo Ziobeieton, noted that in Ghana alone, “96 per cent of adults between the ages of 35 and 44 years are affected by gum diseases, while 40 per cent of 12-year-olds suffer from decayed, missing teeth, stained teeth and bad breath.
Among children, he said, toothache often caused absenteeism, which impacted negatively on their academic progress, learning, social interaction and growth.
In a message, the Minister of Health, Mr Kweku Agyemang Manu, encouraged Ghanaians to take oral health seriously as “it goes a long way to support a healthy lifestyle and build the confidence needed to interact with others.”
He also commended oral health practitioners and Unilever Ghana for the effort put into the various educational initiatives aimed at improving oral health care in the country.
A Chief Dental Officer of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Maxwell Adjei, said the theme for this year’s celebration was to remind children of the importance of taking good care of their teeth and gums.
