The mouth is the doorway to food inside a human/animal body. It is also the doorway to a lot of diseases, if care is not taken. And good oral health is far more than just great-looking teeth, and an attractive smile. Poor oral health and untreated oral diseases can have substantial impacts on the overall quality of life, as the condition of mouth mirrors the condition of the body as a whole, explained a dentist surgeon at the Etough-Egbe Baptist Health Centre, Yaounde, Dr. Bouetou Tantoh Theresia. She added that some people take it lightly, yet it causes havoc and accounts for a great portion of household expenses.
Oral diseases or mouth illnesses are on the rise in the country and health experts say if Cameroonians fail to watch out, it will soon become a serious health problem. The dental department of the Etough-Egbe Baptist Health Centre receives over 40 patients a day Dr.Bouetou says “the number keeps increasing with women and children being the hardest hit.” She explained that eating within meals, brushing the teeth without flossing, brushing teeth using brushes with worn out bristles, uncorking of drink caps with teeth, pricking sharp things, taking drugs especially of the tetracycline group without the consent of health experts and lot more, remain the cause of oral diseases like stomatitis, trauma, decolouration, deformation and sensitivity. These illnesses, according to Dr.Bouetou have led to health complications with some patients undergoing surgery while others contract cancer and complicated illnesses in the system. “There are abnormal cases of growth that become malignant and lead to cancer, driving to surgery,” she emphasised.
Good oral hygiene and regular consultation, she said, remains the panacea. “We advise people to visit dentists at least once in six months and for expectant mothers, to eat healthily and consult babies with paediatricians during the prenatal, antenatal and post-natal periods.” This, according to her, is to avoid teeth malformation and the risk of contracting oral diseases. “Brush the child’s teeth as he/she grows up and check the content of the toothspaste,” she advised. She further hinted that the content of normal fluoride in toothpaste is 0.32 and the public should always watch out when and where they are buying. “If you brush your teeth and after some minutes, you feel they are rough know, there is a problem,” she said. She stressed that brushing of teeth is an art and people should learn to brush them thoroughly not leaving out the tongue so as to avoid falling prey to oral complications like tooth decay, gum diseases, oral cancers and bad breath.
