Healthy teeth and beautiful smiles

Helene Bam
Shona Ngava

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) South Africa and Aquafresh last week embarked on their 21 day on their Oral Health Schools Intervention programme to create awareness about dental care and its importance.

The launch of the intervention programme was at the Emma Hoogenhout Primary School. Carmen Maartens, the managing partner of the intervention program says the intervention was a good initiative to instil a culture of cleanliness to the learners. “, The intervention will serve to drive awareness of the need for a regular oral health habit to protect children’s teeth from decay and eventual tooth loss. The purpose of this intervention is two-fold, firstly to educate and inform parents about the importance of adopting a regular oral health habit within their families and secondly to encourage children to brush their teeth twice a day,” says Maartens. She pointed out that as children get older there is a need to protect their teeth from cavities and to ensure that the overall dental health of learners is at its peak. “As children get older, changes in diet and other habits mean the need for extra protection. Around the age of six, a child’s adult teeth start coming through. When ‘big teeth’ arrive, it’s time to move to a big-tooth level of protection,” she says.

A fourth grade learner from the school, Ndilimeke Shikongo was delighted saying that she would use the toothpaste she got from the intervention to keep her teeth clean. “I can brush my teeth everyday now with my toothpaste and this is a very good thing,” says Shikongo.

The Aquafresh Schools intervention will work with the Ministry of Education on an educational programme in primary schools throughout the country reaching thousands of children. The intervention not only teaches children a habit that will stand them in good stead throughout their lives, but also ensures healthier teeth and gums and the prevention of cavities that often results in tooth loss. The intervention programme was also launched at Tobias Hainyeko Primary School in Windhoek.

GSK and Aquafresh intend to visit the 23 schools across the country with the intervention programme. They have been running the Aquafresh Dental Hygiene Program at schools in Namibia since 2008.