Experts Advocate Public-Private Collaboration to Boost Access to Oral Healthcare

Esther Oluku 

Experts in the Dentistry profession have canvassed the need for public-private collaboration to strengthen awareness and broaden access to oral healthcare in Nigeria.

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Smile360, Dr. Amy Shumbusho, gave the charge while addressing journalists at a press conference in Lagos to flag off the firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) tagged Project Smile.

According to Shumbusho, oral health occupies a critical part of human well-being which has an impact on human lifestyle and self-image. The CSR, she said, offered nine Nigerians pro bono access to tooth cleaning services and special intensive oral care service to two selected patients worth over N1 million.

Giving a run-through of the selection process, she explained that the nine finalists were selected from over 200 entries adding that although the firm has intentions to reach more people with oral healthcare, partnership with other oral care providers would help in accelerating impact and improving oral health for the Nigerian public.

She said: “The beneficiaries of the Project Smile CSR have seen a dentist and we have given them consultations, recorded their treatments, and offered them complimentary scaling and polishing services. More organisations should join. We are looking forward to a situation where when we have a pool of patients, we give some of those patients to partners to treat. We are looking at something in that direction.”  

On her part, Dr. Amaka Umolu stated that the cost implication of increasing access would require a strong commitment from other private sector players and the government who can command wider reach.

“Everything that we do has to do with the public and we are a private sector. We are doing things within our limits and budget. We believe that the government has much more capacity and professional healthcare providers and they can reach out to more people. 

“We can contribute as the private sector. Other practitioners in the private sector can adopt the initiative and together as a society, we can make greater impact.”

Meanwhile, a beneficiary of the project Ms. Sophia Enoch shared that being selected to benefit from the Project Smile initiative is a life-changing opportunity. 

She said: “Being here today means that my life is going to change for good. I’m going to be able to do a lot and achieve things that I’ve not been able to achieve for quite a while now. My personality is going to be greater. I’m going to be better at my career as a content creator.”