State House Clinic Trains 200 IDPs Kids on Oral Hygiene Techniques

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

In attempt to help reduce mouth-related diseases amongst the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the State House Clinic, Abuja, has trained 200 IDPs children below the ages of 16 years on the need to brush their mouth and keep it clean regularly.

The one-day sensitisation event held at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp, Durumi, Abuja, stated the Head of Department, Dental Maxilofacial, State House Clinic, Dr. Nathan Ikimi, is to commemorate the World Oral Health Day.

According to him, “We are here to celebrate the World Oral Health Day at the internally displaced persons camp (IDPs) which have the theme: ‘Think Mouth, Think Health’. We are here to educate the children on how to brush and how to take care of their teeth. We also came with some gift items including toothpastes, brushes.

The Consultant/Family Dentistry, explained that the State House Medical Team decided to visit the IDP’s camp amongst other places because, “the children here, are displaced children and we found out that, they are in need of care, they are needy children and so, we believe that, while there are other children that are in need of medical care equally, our focus in State House Medical Clinic is children.”

He said: “The Dental Department, we are particularly interested in children and nursing mothers and mothers generally. Because, when you educate the mother, you educate the family, So that the family is taking care of.

“The oral health, the mouth as the theme reflects, is the mirror of the whole body, the mirror of the health, so, if the mouth is okay, the health will be okay because, there are a lot of illnesses that have been found to be related to the mouth.”

Ikimi, further disclosed that, “a lot of heart diseases, pancreas cancer, lung diseases, they all related to the mouth. If you take care of the mouth, there is likelihood that you will reduce those infections for instance, take of diabetes, studies have been carried out even in Abuja here at Garki Hospital, we found out that diabetic patients responds better when their teeth is okay.

“And when their tooth is not okay, they lose more teeth which is an end result of diabetics periodontal disease and is the sixth common disease affecting diabetics patients.

“So, in order for them not to lose teeth, we have to take care of their oral hygiene so, we are starting from childhood, from the children now, teaching them how to take care of their oral hygiene. We are looking at children below 16, and our focus at State House Medical Clinic is children.”

Ikimi hinted that, “It is right to brush after breakfast and last thing in the night, when you work up in the morning, just raise your mouth, with ordinary water, take your breakfast and after breakfast, you brush because you brushed last in the night and through in the night your mouth was not busy you did not eat anything, so when you wake up in the morning, just raise your mouth with warm water or any water and after breakfast, you brush and last thing in the night.”

He further explained that, “those that tend to pour out when brushing after eating, we advise them to adopt the rings roll brushing technique. But for children at their age, they might not have the dexterity to do the rings roll. Let them cultivate the habit of brushing and they take it from them.”

Concerning mouth odour, he said, “some will say that they don’t have money for the tooth brush and tooth paste, we are not against the use of chewing sticks but, we will not advise you to chew the stick to a pop, before you use the chewing stick, we want awareness programme, we want to encourage multinationals companies to sponsor oral programmes.”

He however said that, “State House, is taking active part in oral awareness programme (medical department) we have limited resources, we can’t do more than we can afford, and advise that patients see their dentists, take your children to your dentist once in three months.”