Members of the Nigeria Dental Association, employees of Unilever Nigeria Plc, dental practitioners, and stakeholders took to the street of Lagos for their annual Oral Health Walk yesterday. The walk is to sensitise Nigerians on the need to brush their teeth twice daily with a fluoride toothpaste like Pepsodent.
The Pepsodent Oral Health Walk which kicked-off from Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba through to Ojuelegba is in line with the activities leading up to celebrate this year’s World Oral
Health Day Celebration themed “Live Mouth Smart”.
“The oral health walk is part of Unilever’s vision to help millions of Nigerian families adopt the best oral health practices,” said Ibironke Ugbaja, Oral Care Category Lead, Unilever Nigeria.
“Since the launch of the Pepsodent Oral Health Schools program in 2014, Unilever Nigeria has so far reached 2.5 million Nigerian children directly in over 3,500 public primary schools with products (toothpaste and toothbrushes) educational materials and a 21-days oral hygiene program, teaching them to imbibe the culture of brushing twice-daily using a fluoride containing toothpaste such as Pepsodent.
Our goal is to reach 10 million children by 2020,” she concluded. Sensitisation materials, Pepsodent toothpaste and toothbrushes were handed over to commuters and residents within the neighbourhood of the areas covered by the health walk.
Addressing journalists during the walk, the President, Nigerian Dental Association, Dr. Olabode Ijarogbe said: “The health work is part of efforts to prevent and check the spread of oral diseases.”
He further emphasized that “it is imperative that Nigerians brush twice a day and the annual health walk is one of the ways we create awareness about oral hygiene and its importance.”
The 2017 celebration of World Oral Health Day is set to take place on Monday March 20, 2017 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
(thisdaylive.)
