Health
NO fewer than 2,500 students in the Lagos State Education District One in Agege will benefit in the ongoing School Oral Health programme organised by the Orile Agege General Hospital (OAGH), Lagos.
Dr Sola Pitan, the Medical Director of OAGH, said that the week-long programme, which was in its second edition, was organised to educate students on oral hygiene and to commemorate the World Oral Day.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Oral Day is celebrated every March 20 to create awareness on the importance of oral hygiene.
Pitan said:” The purpose of this programme which started on Monday is to imbibe the spirit of oral healthcare as part of general wellbeing in our communities.
“We started the programme in 2022 and only two schools out of the 99 schools in Agege benefitted from it, this year 2500 students from eight schools in the Agege education district will benefit.
“This is also part of our various interventions which is in line with the THEMES agenda of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-olu to make healthcare delivery accessible at all levels,” he said.
Speaking also, Dr Mobalaji Olukoya, the Commissioner two in the Lagos State Health Service Commission said the programme was an essential public health measure targeted at identifying both oral and general risks for prompt intervention.
Olukoya said:” The mouth is the mirror of the body, many systemic diseases have oral manifestations, so it is important to educate these student who are the future of tomorrow on basic oral hygiene.
“What Orile Agege general hospital is doing is very commendable by taking various medical interventions to the communities as a way of caring for people in the locality,” he said.
Also, Dr Adesegun Adedapo, the Director of Dental Services In Lagos State commended the leadership of the hospital and the Dental department for championing the programme.
Adedapo said efforts would be put in place to ensure that all dental departments in state-owned hospitals replicate the intervention in their various localities.
“The purpose of this programme is to get oral health care awareness to the grassroots and I’m delighted that our children are getting the necessary care and education as regarding oral hygiene,” he said.
The Director of Schools Administration, Education District One, Mr Oluyemi Adeshina, lauded the hospital for the initiative, noting that it would help to improve the oral health of students in the district.
Dr Babatunde Adeniji, the Head of Dental Department at OAGH, said programme was put together to address the impact of poor oral hygiene in children.
Adeniji noted that dental caries, also known as tooth decay or cavities, remained a major health concern globally and also the most prevalent condition in the global burden of disease study.
“The prevalence of dental caries in children in Nigeria is 42 per cent and there are numerous risks associated with dental caries.
“Local risks include form and arrangements of teeth, poor oral hygiene, bedtime infant feeding, inadequate fluoride and other,” he said.
He urged Lagos residents to go for dental check-up twice a year and maintain good oral hygiene.
Some of the students who spoke to NAN described the experience as an eye opener for them.
Esther David, a JSS 3 student of Mulero Junior College, Agege and Kawthar Olaoye, an SS2 student of Girls Senior High School, Agege, said it was the first time of getting their teeth examined and scaled.
NAN reports that the schools that benefitted from the screening included Government Senior College, Agege; Girls Senior High School Agege; Girls Junior High School, Agege and Mulero Junior College, Agege.
Others are Government Comprehensive Junior College, Agege; State Senior High School, Agege and State Junior High School, Agege.
The programme will end on Friday. (NAN)
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Tags: Dr Sola Pitan Orile Agege General Hospital
