02 Oct 2019

Tooth decay and gum diseases are the most common cases of oral ailments in Botswana.

Family physician and head of curative care at Athlone Hospital in Lobatse, Dr Bobby Kgosiemang said oral diseases were a serious health care concern.

Speaking during Oral Health Day commemoration in Mogojogojo in the southern district recently, Dr Kgosiemang said tooth decay accounted for 54 per cent of all oral diseases in Botswana while gum diseases were the next common oral ailment in the country.

He advised on keeping good oral hygiene and practicing healthy eating habits to help prevent oral diseases.

“There are things we can do to avoid suffering from oral diseases. They include avoiding or stopping to smoke cigarettes, reducing or avoiding to drink alcohol and avoiding to eat too much sugar. It is also important to diagnose oral diseases before they get worse and spread throughout the mouth,” Dr Kgosiemang said.

He noted that in 2011 the World Health Organisation (WHO) called on governments around the world to treat oral health as a priority issue because many people suffered from oral diseases.

He said in 2016 WHO statistics indicated that approximately half of the world’s population (3.58 billion people), were affected by oral diseases.

“In response to this call, all African countries have committed to making health services a priority. Our government recently developed a five-year strategy which aims to combat all non-communicable diseases, including oral diseases,” Dr Kgosiemang said.

Dr Kgomotso Dikole, a dental surgeon at Athlone Hospital, urged people to discard habits that would put them at risk of oral diseases. Dr Dikole also urged people to wash their mouth twice a day to promote good oral hygiene.
 

He further said oral cancer was a growing oral health issue in Botswana.

“You should rush to hospital whenever there are sores in your mouth that do not heal quickly. Cancer kills, therefore people should never wait to feel pain before going to hospital,” he said.  

He also urged people to go for check-up every six months to learn whether their mouths were still in a healthy condition. ENDS