Some of the children going through the dental screening
The Dental Surgeon at Tarkwa Municipal Hospital in the Western Region, Dr. Victor Paintsil, has implored on school children to desist from patronising all types of candies and sugary drinks.
He has also suggested that the sale of all sugary drinks and sweets should be banned in schools.
According to the dental surgeon, the move would help to tackle dental decay among children.
Dr. Paintsil was speaking in an interview with journalists during a sensitisation programme for school children on oral health.
The event, which was organised by Gold Fields Ghana Foundation in partnership with Unilever Ghana, producers of Pepsodent toothpaste, was to mark this year’s World Oral Health Day celebration.
Approximately 3,000 school children from Akon MA, Gold Fields School Complex, New Atuabo Community Basic, New Atuabo John Taylor, Brahabobom and Richard Grem Schools attended the programme.
The students, who were taken through dental screening, were also educated on oral hygiene and taught how to brush their teeth to protect them from cavity.
Dr. Painstil said, “We have all manner of toffees, some of them, unfortunately are being sold by teachers.”
“As a public health intervention, we need to place a ban or limit the consumption of these sweets and beverages in our lower institutions of learning,” he pointed out.
He noted that there is evidence that if the consumption of sugar is decreased, tooth decay, particularly among children, could be reduced.
According to Dr. Paintsil, children should rather be encouraged to eat fruits like oranges and bananas.
“Do you know that one of the commonest beverages we all consume, if you take the amount equivalent to one sachet water, it contains about six cubes of sugar?” he quizzed.
He, therefore, reiterated his call for a ban on the sale of sweets on school compounds, to protect children against dental related diseases.
Project Coordinator, Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, Ayishetu Mohammed, explained that the main focus of the Foundation is preventive healthcare.
“The school children who attended were encouraged to ‘Do the 2’ which means they should brush their teeth twice a day,” she indicated.
She advised parents to help their children take good care of their teeth and ensure that their children brush their teeth twice a day.
“We are also advising the children to put whatever they were taught at the World Oral Health Day programme into practice,” she added.
The Tarkwa Coordinator for School Health Education Programme (SHEP), Madam Agnes Esi Quantson, mentioned that some peer educators would later educate those who could not attend the programme on the need to practice oral hygiene.
The children were given Pepsodent toothpaste, toothbrushes, exercise books and Pepsodent-branded water bottles.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Tarkwa