Editorial
Children’s early dental care essential
Early dental care is essential for children, and parents are urged to begin their children’s dental care as soon as their first teeth appear.
This is because early oral hygiene habits could guarantee strong, healthy teeth for the rest of one’s life and prevent long-term dental issues.
Dental care is therefore crucial in order to maintain good oral health and avoid any problems that can develop as the child gets older.
Introducing children to dental care also provided parents with advice on good oral hygiene habits, according to Dr. Kakra Bonsu Appiah, Head of the Dental and Oral Surgery Department at Tema General Hospital.
These include proper tooth and gum hygiene, the value of fluoride, and dietary practices that promote strong, healthy teeth.
Establishing proper oral hygiene habits early on is crucial since it prevents cavities, gum disease, and other dental problems while laying the groundwork for a lifetime of healthy living. However, some caregivers begin this practice later.
Toothache and other gum or tooth-related issues should not be treated lightly because they cause excruciating pain that affects every part of the body and impairs attention.
Many children enjoy eating sweets, but since sugary diets are a major cause of cavities, parents should advise their children to restrict their intake.
The dentist advises using fluoride toothpaste to clean one’s teeth twice a day and flossing once a day.
In order for this to be successful, caregivers must set an example by maintaining proper dental hygiene so that their children can easily follow suit.
In addition, parents need to feed their children a healthy food.
The dentist advised against prolonged thumb-sucking, which is a frequent behaviour among young children, as it may result in an open bite, in which the child’s lower and upper front teeth do not touch correctly when their mouth closes.
According to him, this misalignment may impair the child’s capacity to properly bite and chew food and may also result in speech issues, including issues with articulation and pronunciation.
In order to lower the chance of future oral health problems, The Spectator pleads with parents to make sure their children’s dental growth stays on course, as advised by the dentist.
Editorial
Kudos to Ho Teaching Hospital staff, but …
Dear Editor,
If there is any group of professionals that get bad-mouthed the most, then you are referring to nurses and medical doctors assigned to public hospitals across the country.
For this particular letter, I want to sing the praises of this same group of professionals that work at the Ho Teaching Hospital, famously known as Trafalgar.
Despite the work load and the mass casualties received at the emergency ward of the hospital, the welcoming nature of the nurses and the professional touch by the doctors can’t be ignored. My personal experience has got me travelling from my base in Accra to seek medical services from these professionals.
Special mention has to be made of the likes of Precious of the Pharmacy Department, Dr Brandon Banor (a maxillofacial resident) of the Dental unit, male nurse Justice assigned to the female surgical ward. Words cannot really do justice to their affable, professional caring nature. A simple thank you is all that I can say.
In the same vein, I can’t but call out the bad attitude of the auxiliary staff and contractors of the hospital.
Chief among them is some of the contracted bank staff that handle the payment section of the hospital and the patient registration section (those that check the status of the patient as to whether they are fee paying patients or NHIS sponsored).
The attitude at times leaves a bad taste in the mouth. One such occurrence was a night staff of the registration section who had her legs on the office table whilst talking to patients.
The CEO of the hospital needs to shine his torch light on this support sections before they erode the awesome performance of the direct medical staff of the hospital.
Thank you for the space.
Kwesi Manu
Accra
Editorial
Develop policies to address disability concerns
Dear Editor,
AT the beginning of the year, when I went to the bank to deposit money into my uncle’s account, I observed a very sad situation where a man in a wheelchair struggled to navigate his way around the facility.
This is because the structure is disability unfriendly.
As I stood and watched how the man struggled to move his wheelchair, I felt sad and wondered if this is how the life of a disabled person should be. It becomes worse if there is no one to offer help.
In Ghana, People With Disabilities (PWDs) are often treated differently and are often subjected to all forms of discrimination.
Most of these people find themselves in such a situation as a result of unfortunate happenings such as accidents and injuries.
It is, therefore, not appropriate for anyone to discriminate against them. Discrimination against such persons take many forms, including how buildings are constructed.
Most of the public structures are not disability friendly and impede their movement.
As a country, we should consider the PWDs in designing our structures. I also think that there should be a national policy that seeks to address this issue.
I have a strong conviction that when such a policy is developed by the government, people with disabilities would feel appreciated and also promote social inclusivity.
Ray,
Kasoa
