Unilever Limited under its Pepsodent brand has sponsored a global study to promote good oral health among parents and school children across the world.
The study which was carried out in eight countries around the world was on the topic, ‘The Hidden Impact of Oral Health on Children’s Lives.’
The objective of the study, which formed part of the company’s corporate social responsibility and oral health care campaign, was to study the impact of tooth decay on the lives of school children.
In all, about 1000 respondents were covered in the study conducted in the last quarter of last year and first quarter of this year.
Ghana and Egypt were the two countries in Africa selected for the study.
A dentist at the SDA Hospital at Gbawe, Dr Edward Ohene-Marfo highlighting on the report at the Ghana Dental Association (GDA) 28th annual general congress held in Accra said the study found that children with poor oral health care were “less likely to attend school and participate and perform well in class due to oral pain”.
He said children with poor oral health care were also less “likely to smile and enjoy being at school”.
“Nearly twice as likely to find it difficult to socialise with other pupils and also find it harder to make friends and three times more likely to opt out of school activities,” Dr Ohene-Marfo said.
He said tooth decay brought excruciating pain to children and affect their self-esteem.
Dr Ohene-Marfo among others suggested that children should brush their teeth in the morning and at night before they go to bed.
He said parents as well as their children should visit the dentist at least twice a year to check their oral health status.A member of the GDA and dentist at the Komfo Teaching Hospital, Dr Ama Amuasi in a panel discussion called for the establishment of a dental clinic in every district of the country.This, she said, was necessary to promote better oral health care at the local level. Dr Amuasi said oral health care had been concentrated in the cities to the neglect of people at the local level.The GDA 28th Annual General Congress was sponsored by Unilever Ghana Limited under its Pepsodent brand.