28 Aug 2018

Ngami District Health Management Oral Health team together with relevant stakeholders will commemorate World Oral Health at Mababe and Khwai.

In an interview recently, project coordinator, Mr Thebeyame Rantshothe said the main objective would be to  sensitise the community about new technology and information regarding oral health.

The day will be commemorated on September 12 under the theme ‘Think mouth, think health’.

 Mr Rantshothe said people should know that as human beings, their mouth “is the window to their overall health and physical appearance.”

He added that just like a car , one’s mouth mouth structures needed regular check-ups and appropriate maintenance, complaining however that  issues dealing with the mouth structures were not of much concern to most people.

Mr Rantshothe added that most people gwent to the dentist when they were in pain or they felt that something was wrong rather than to visit the dentist for a general check-up once every six months.

‘‘Many of us don’t visit our dentists as regularly as we probably should because of the fear of pain,”

Mouth structures are all the teeth, tongue, palate, lips, gums and the soft tissue inner lining while the face and neck structures are all the soft and hard tissues around those areas, he said.

Meanwhile Mr Rantshothe said the DMHT team had partnership with private practitioners like Smile Dental Care, Naledi Dental Care and NGO’s among others Tshidilo Stimulus Centre, Thuso Rehabilitation Centre and Wilderness Safaris.

“We will offer oral health education, assess, screen and give treatment to the community on that day,’’ he said.

For her part, regional education officer Ms Veronica Ridge said the commemoration came at the right time in the region as most of the students had dental health issues. Shae said school children, especially in rural areas find it hard to reach oral health services. ENDS