On the 20th of March every year, we in the Committee on Dental Education and Health (CODEH), University of Ibadan join our fellow dental professionals all over the world to commemorate the World Oral Health Day. This year, the theme says ‘Be Proud of Your Mouth’. The theme begs the question – are you proud of your mouth?
Globally, it is quite unfortunate that not enough attention is given to the mouth compared to other parts of the body. The situation is worse in this part of the world – Africa. As much as this piece is not targeted at creating a jostle of which body’s structures or cavities require the most attention, I does attempt to point out that even the most dreadful diseases that affect other structures can be detected first from the mouth, hence a germane conviction to take good oral hygiene serious.
In essence, inculcating good oral hygiene practices reduces the burden of oral diseases which poses a problem to people, health systems and economies all around the world. Oral diseases affect nearly 3.5 billion people, with more than 480 million of these people in Africa.
The purpose of the World Oral Health Day is to empower people with the information, tools and courage to seek and ensure good oral health. This day is important as oral diseases are a major health concern for many countries especially a developing country like ours. Oral diseases lead to pain, discomfort, ostracization and loss of self-esteem. This is very saddening as majority of these oral health diseases are easily preventable and can be treated in their early stages.
This celebration challenges individuals to take responsibility for their oral health; schools to deliver more knowledge pertaining to oral health; oral health care professionals and the health care community to educate the population and of course, governments to push for better oral health for everyone. Everyone has a role to play in reducing this health burden.
Join the conversation! Don’t be silent. Ensure everyone around you is equipped with more information as it pertains to their oral health and we hope to make the world a better place one smile at a time. In the end, all the mouth wants is for its master (you) to say to it, “I am proud of you!”
Goroti Samuel
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