She noted that Pepsodent had partnered with a number of stakeholders, including the Ghana Dental Association (GDA), on initiatives such as brushing twice daily and tele-dentistry, among others, to promote good oral care and encourage regular visits to a dentist.

The company noted that studies showed that about 13 percent of middle school children aged 9 to 16 years suffered dental caries, with about 35 percent of the population in low-income countries having access to dental healthcare, noting that this year’s focus was on children and families.

To tackle this, Pepsodent introduced a digital platform that enables individuals and children, regardless of their age or location, to reach dentists under the theme #TalkToADentist when needed via a toll-free number of 0800 161 000.

In 2021 alone, an estimated 2.5 million children in Ghana missed school due to poor oral health and its effect on their overall well-being, such as self-esteem and educational potential.

The President of the Ghana Dentist Association, Dr. Cecilia Kakrabah Quarshie, said that partnering with Pepsodent went beyond providing oral care products but involved impacting lives through educating children and providing access to oral health care. She emphasised the need for good oral health as the mouth is a doorway, and an unhealthy one could affect the overall quality of life.

She added that bad oral health could contribute to respiratory infections, heart diseases, and eventually death. Dr. Quarshie called for practices such as brushing the teeth twice a day, flossing, proper dieting, education, and partnerships with other institutions such as the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education to advocate for policies that promote oral health, especially in underserved communities.

Ms. Vera Boadu, Category Manager at Unilever Ghana PLC, noted that the company had dedicated the 2024 year to encouraging children to cultivate the habit of seeing a dentist from an early age. Pepsodent would therefore engage in a series of free dental screenings at several locations to mark World Oral Health Day as well as provide digital services through tele-dentistry to reach more people. The digital platform she disclosed started in October 2023 and has an average of 3000 patients per month.

Mr. Richard Baffour Awuah from the Ministry of Education pointed out that they were in the process of reviewing the school health policy to address oral health in schools and urged stakeholders to push the frontiers to encourage learners to develop their talents