In commemoration of the 2024 World Oral Health Day, Pepsodent, a prominent global toothpaste brand, has initiated a dental health campaign named “Talk to A Dentist” in collaboration with the Nigerian Dental Association. The campaign aims to reach 10 million children by 2025, with its launch beginning in schools and communities across Lagos.
L-R: Director, Dentistry Division, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Gloria Uzoigwe; Business Lead, Beauty, Wellbeing & Personal Care, Unilever Nigeria, Mrs. Oiza Gyang; President, Nigerian Dental Association, Dr. Tope Adeyemi; Category Manager, Oral Care, Unilever Nigeria, Miss. Eva Ogudu and Personal Care, Research & Development Head, Unilever Africa, Mr. Uchenna Nwakamma, during a press conference for the 2024 Pepsodent World Oral Health Day held at Unilever’s corporate head office in Lagos today
Talk To A Dentist Campaign
Speaking during a press conference to herald the commemoration of the 2024 World Oral Health Day, Marketing Head – Beauty & Well-Being and Personal Care, Unilever Nigeria, Oiza Gyang, expressed the campaign’s motive to promote good oral health hygiene among children, emphasizing Unilever’s commitment to combatting poor oral health care in Nigeria. Gyang highlighted the link between oral care diseases and absenteeism among school pupils, underlining Pepsodent’s efforts to reverse this trend through targeted initiatives.
“Globally, about 3.9 billion people suffer from one oral health condition or the other with tooth decay being the most prevalent oral disease. It has been established that children with poor oral health are more likely to suffer self-confidence and self-esteem issues. These days, we have since realized that the highest cause of school absenteeism is as a result of oral diseases,” she said.
Welcome Address by The Category Manager
In her welcome remarks, Category Manager, Oral Care at Unilever Nigeria, Eva Ogudu, outlined the campaign’s objectives to achieve zero cavities through consistent twice-daily brushing with a fluoride toothpaste like Pepsodent and regular dental check-ups. She emphasized the initiative’s broader goal of democratizing access to dental care, including free dental camps to eradicate oral diseases.
Pepsodent Brush Day and Night School Program
Ogudu reflected on past successes, noting the significant impact of previous campaigns in reaching millions of children and providing essential dental health services to thousands of Nigerians. She underscored the ongoing collaboration between Pepsodent and the Nigerian Dental Association in advancing oral health education and accessibility nationwide.
Pepsodent’s “Talk to a Dentist” campaign was launched three years ago in collaboration with The Nigerian Dental Association to promote oral health education by sensitizing Nigerians on the importance of visiting a dentist. In 2022 alone, we were able to reach 1 million children. In 2023, we took the awareness campaign a notch higher as the brand, in collaboration with NDA, reached 2 million children. Besides, we also provided free dental health checks for 50,000 Nigerians. In addition, we also reached 30 million Nigerians indirectly through the distribution of Pepsodent to various households,” Ogudu said.
Also speaking, Head, Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Business, Unilever Nigeria, Godfrey Adejumoh, noted that the ‘Talk to a Dentist’ campaign embarked upon by Pepsodent remains one of the numerous initiatives outlined by Unilever Nigeria to improve people’s health, confidence and well-being. Adejumoh reiterated the company’s commitment to using its business to become a force for good in society.
On his part, Personal Care, Research & Development Head, Unilever Africa, Uchenna Nwakamma, explained that the Pepsodent brand remains the preferred toothpaste for driving oral health care agenda because of its patented formulation.
In his remarks, the President of the Nigerian Dental Association, Dr. Tope Adeyemi, disclosed that about 90% of the world’s population are more likely to suffer from oral diseases in their lifetime.
Adeyemi stated that Nigerians must cultivate low cost preventive practices such as brushing of teeth twice daily with fluoride containing toothpaste, visitation of dentist as well as the adoption of healthy lifestyle to prevent common oral diseases.
While appreciating the longstanding partnership on the ‘Talk To Dentist’ programme, he commended Unilever Nigeria for their steadfast commitment and support towards the actualization of optimum oral health among Nigerians.
“The Nigerian Dental Association collaborates with Unilever Nigeria Plc to commemorate World Oral Health Day 2024 through a series of nationwide oral health promotion initiatives. These activities encompass school visits, outreach programs offering free dental check-ups, scaling and polishing (S&P), basic fillings (GIC filings), and simple extractions in communities. Additionally, awareness walks, educational programs, advocacy visits, and social media campaigns contribute to spreading oral health awareness across various channels.”
He urged the Federal Government to integrate oral health services into the primary health centres stating that doing so will reduce the burden of common preventable oral diseases as well as save costs for dental expenditure.
“Presently, oral care services primarily fall under secondary care within the NHIA. The NDA advocates for integrating preventive oral care measures like scaling, polishing, fluoride therapy, basic fillings, denture services, and simple extractions into NHIA’s primary care services,” he elaborated.
Lamenting the limited access to oral health care services in Nigeria especially in the rural areas, he stated that it was unfortunate that dentist to population ratio currently stands at 1:53,828 as against the recommended ratio of 1: 5,000.
Additionally, Dr. Gloria Uzoigwe, Director of the Dentistry Division at the Federal Ministry of Health, praised the government’s strides in advancing oral health policy. She emphasized the ongoing efforts to integrate oral health into primary healthcare services. Dr. Uzoigwe commended Unilever for its impactful contributions to oral health awareness and reiterated the government’s dedication to achieving universal access to dental care for all Nigerians.
“Pepsodent’s “Talk to A Dentist” initiative underscores a collaborative endeavor aimed at raising oral health awareness and enhancing accessibility. Through this campaign, they strive to cultivate healthier smiles and brighter futures for children throughout Nigeria.”
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