Dentists caution Nigerians on harmful oral habits

The Nigerian Dental Association has advised the public to avoid dangerous oral practices, warning that the mouth is highly sensitive and requires proper care.

The association’s president, Dr Emedom Elias, delivered the caution at the 58th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference held in Abuja, where he expressed concern over the widespread practice of using the teeth to open bottled drinks, describing it as a major cause of tooth fractures and gum injuries.

Elias noted that the injuries often worsen over time, leading to more serious oral health complications, adding that such habits must be discontinued, stressing that the mouth is too delicate to be subjected to careless use.

Commenting on how to strengthen dental practice in the country, he said access to functional equipment was essential for practitioners to deliver quality care.

He added that public awareness and regular dental visits were also necessary to support a strong dental care system.

He explained that having a clinic alone is not enough, insisting that practitioners need the right tools and that dental personnel require continuous training.

Elias also identified poor funding as a major factor hindering the development of dentistry in Nigeria.

He said most dental facilities, including those owned by the government, are concentrated in urban centres, leaving people in rural communities with limited or no access to dental services.

To address this, he recommended integrating dental units into primary healthcare centres to improve nationwide coverage.

In a keynote address at the conference, Dr Olaniyi Taiwo, Director and Chief Executive of the Intercountry Centre for Oral Health for Africa, called for a stronger focus on oral health within the national health agenda.

Speaking on the theme Healthy smiles, sustainable futures, he argued that health and sustainable development are inseparable and that oral health must be recognised as a critical component of both.

Taiwo observed that, despite its strong connection to overall well-being, oral health remains largely absent from discussions around sustainable development.

He said Nigeria’s national oral health policy is poorly implemented, and that oral health services have not been fully integrated into the country’s Universal Health Coverage programme.

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He noted that Nigeria’s oral health data is outdated, and surveillance systems remain underfunded, making effective planning difficult.

Taiwo highlighted global statistics showing that more than three billion people suffer from oral diseases, yet oral health continues to receive little attention and is rarely included in UHC or development funding priorities.

According to him, dental caries, periodontal diseases, oral cancers, and other non-communicable disease-related oral conditions remain widespread in Nigeria, affecting millions of citizens.

Most of these conditions are preventable, he said, yet they continue to cause pain, disfigurement, loss of productivity and financial strain.

Taiwo added that oral health receives less than one percent of Nigeria’s national health budget and attracts minimal support from international donors, stressing that dentistry plays an important role in economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.

He said oral health contributes to productivity, supports social well-being and, when managed responsibly, advances environmentally friendly health practices, emphasising that dentistry is an integral part of human development and must be treated as such.