The public have been advised against smoking, chewing of cola nuts and using ones' teeth to open bottles containing beverages, since these habits lead to the poor oral hygiene.

That dental caries (carca) was among the common OPD cases recorded as high in 2020 as compared to 2019 at the Tumu Municipal Hospital.

The hospital has therefore appealed to the public to be conscious of their teeth as the world draws attention to oral health.

This came to light during the celebration of World Oral Health Day across the world and which was also marked by the Dental unit of the Tumu hospital.

Mr Saeed Mohammed, a dental health officer at the dental unit spoke to the Ghana News Agency in an interview after undertaking a public awareness campaign to the wards, and OPD units to demonstrate proper brushing techniques of the teeth.

He said "it's an international day to mark the state of the mouth, tongue and teeth and on oral health".

It was celebrated under the theme: "Be proud of your mouth".

Mr Mohammed called on the public to visit the unit regularly for assistance and also to know the benefits of good oral hygiene, and report to the dental clinic at least twice a year stressing on the importance of the day.

As part of the day, the unit encouraged the public to access the services of the unit where they provide filling services, removing of bad teeth, cleaning and patching of the teeth that have an infection.

"A good oral health enhances socialization, aids digestion, halitosis, smell from the mouth is reduced. An infected tooth on the other hand leads to low self-esteem, bad digestion and malnourished personality", he explained.

On prevention of poor oral health habits, the public was also advised to do self-rinsing of the mouth exercises after eating anything and do regular brushing of the teeth two times a day.

The common diseases of the mouth included periodontal disease infection, gingivitis, jaw fractures among others.