Unilever Ghana Limited as part of activities marking this year’s World Oral Health Day has offered a White Paper on the Hidden Impact of Oral Health at the Accra Tourist Information Centre.
The March 20 event with pressmen saw two dentists Dr. Esi Afful and Dr. Paapa Puplampu share highlights of the report.
It emerged a global Pepsodent team engaged children and parents in eight countries including Ghana, Egypt, US and India across different continents where participants’ oral hygiene routine was assessed as well as take stock of Pepsodent’s activities in enhancing oral hygiene of global citizens.
Dr. Esi Afful mentioned the research spanned 5 continents involving children aged 6-17 years noting not maintaining one’s mouth properly could lead to bad breath, tooth decay, gum problems all leading to the child having self-esteem issues because of getting teased by peers likely to result in the child boycotting school entirely.
Even when such pupils remain in school, they become shy and do not speak in class according to Dr. Afful noting in Ghana, majority of children experience oral pain. She noted four out of ten children experience some kind of tooth issue in Ghana but all hope is not lost.
Eating healthy and brushing twice a day especially before bedtime is crucial in maintaining a healthy teeth, gum and tongue.
Meanwhile, Dr. Paapa Puplampu for his part explained baby teeth is formed from birth to 6 years while the adult teeth starts sprouting from 6 to 13 years eventually adding up to the full 32 set of a fully-fledged adult. He however revealed that even with 20 teeth one should be able to chew properly.
Dr. Puplampu who doubles at the Vice President of the Ghana Dental Association noted cavities popularly called tooth decay arises when sugary items are consumed without properly ridding the mouth of the residue over time.
He declared pepsodent contained fluoride which was key in helping maintain the teeth, reason why folks should the product.
The Hidden Impact of Oral Health report holds that tooth decay is the world’s most widespread disease with at least 3 out of 5 children suffering from dental cavities.
The study also revealed children with poor oral health don’t just suffer bad breath, cavities and pain but also lower self-esteem, a development Unilever Oral Care seeks to remedy.
By Michael Eli Dokosi/goldstreetbusiness.com