Fifty percent of the world’s population has oral health diseases, according to the Oral Health Professional Association of Ghana (OHPAG).
In Ghana, the situation is not different as one out of every two people have oral health disease, a situation that puts almost every Ghanaian at risk.
The President of the Association, Shaibu Issifu, made the revelations in an interview with Onua News ahead of the World Oral Health Day, which falls on March 20 every year.
The theme for this year is ‘A Happy Mouth Is A Happy Body’.
Among activities marking this year’s event is awareness creation through a health walk on the Ayi Mensah-to-Aburi road on Saturday, March 16.
There will also be a stakeholders consultative meeting on oral health and also a visit to the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons on Wednesday, March 20 to educate and support inmates with oral health products.
Mr. Issifu said the Association chose Nsawam Prisons because it is a place everyone can fall a victim to, so if the inmates are left without being educated on the need to have good oral health, they can transfer diseases to those they come in contact with after they have been released.
Dangers
The President said the mouth is the gateway to the body so if anything affects the mouth, it affects the entire body.
Mr. Issifu explained that mouth disease can affect any other parts of the body and therefore there is the need to ensure the practice of good oral health.
“When one gets toothache, it can even lead to heart and chest burns, it can lead to dementia, heart failure, among others.”
He said mouth infections are dangerous for pregnant women and it can lead to loss of a baby.
“Mouth disease can lead to termination of pregnancy, it can lead to premature delivery, it can affect the lungs and it can also affect the heart,” Mr. Issifu added.
He noted that most of the diseases can be detected through the mouth by visiting the dentist for examinations.
“We can detect HIV/AIDS, high blood pressure, anaemia, jaundice, among other diseases through the mouth.”
He added that the mouth reflects the body, so anything that is affecting the mouth has the potential of affecting the rest of the body.
“Forty percent of children between the ages of 6 months to nine years have dental caries in Ghana while one out of 100 people who are above twenty years have lost one or two teeth.”
Remedies
Enumerating some remedies for proper oral health, Mr. Issifu urged ghanaians to embark on regular brushing of teeth and check-ups twice every year.
“Let us brush our teeth in the morning and in the evening. Teeth illness does not come at once so we must visit a dentist every six months even if we do not feel any pain in our teeth,” he added.
He advised against use of the teeth to open drinks and chewing of hard objects such a bones.
“Visit a dentist anytime you see blood clots while brushing.”
Attentions on oral health
The President noted that Ghanaians do not pay much attention on the teeth because government spends less than a dollar on the teeth every month as compared to that of the other parts of the body.
He said in the year 2019, government spent $196,000 to treat teeth-related diseases while it spent $800, 000 to maintain teeth.
Mr. Issifu urged the government to ensure all hospitals, health centres and other health facilities have a dentist who will advocate for a good oral health.
By Kweku Antwi-Otoo|onuaonline.com|Ghana
