Tema-Ghana, Nov. 06, – Dr. Mensah Tabi-Amankwa, a dentist at International Maritime Hospital (IMaH), has issued a warning to the public, emphasising that mouthwash should not be used in place of brushing your teeth.
As Dr. Tabi-Amankwa put it, mouthwash “can eliminate some bacteria and make the mouth smell nice, but it does not remove food particles.”
He underlines that mouthwash is just an additional tool for eliminating oral bacteria, stressing “If you don’t brush your teeth mechanically, even if you wash your mouth, it’s not clean.”
Dr. Tabi-Amankwa spoke at the weekly “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility,” which is a project of the Ghana News Agency’s Tema Regional Office to enhance health literacy, promoting discussion of health-related topics, and offer a forum for the sharing of health information were the objectives of the project.
It was intended to explore the limits of the four health communication modalities—informative, instructional, persuasive, and prompting—in addition to serving as a platform for public health advocacy.
In his lecture on “Oral Health,” the IMaH Dentist recommended that people see a hospital for expert care at least twice a year and brush twice a day, particularly at night, to help remove all food particles from their teeth.
He revealed that there were chemical and mechanical steps involved in cleaning or brushing teeth, explaining that applying fluoride-containing dental paste to protect teeth is chemical, and rotating the brush in a circular motion is mechanical.
He advised against brushing your teeth in an upward and downward motion since this erodes the gum line, weakens the tissue that surrounds your teeth, and leaves food residue on your teeth.
To effectively clean teeth, the dentists at IMaH advised brushing at a 45-degree angle in a circular motion to allow the brush to reach between the surface and the space.
Dr. Tabi-Amankwa encouraged the public to always apply fluoride tooth paste if they choose to utilise chewing sticks and sponges in place of teeth brushes.
He also advised against using a hard toothbrush, stating that the latter destroys gum tissues and loses enamel. Instead, use a medium-to soft toothbrush.
According to Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Regional Manager of Ghana News Agency Tema, “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility” is a part of a collaborative effort to provide a conduit for the diffusion of health information in order to influence individual health decisions by boosting health literacy.
He continued by saying that it uses the communication abilities of the Ghana News Agency and medical professionals to educate the public on the importance of everyone’s health and the necessity of making it a priority.
The public, medical professionals, workers, employers, and parents should all be worried about the health of others, according to Mr. Ameyibor.
He pointed out that fostering a healthy society requires participation from all.
Mr. Ameyibor pointed out that for a society to be healthy, everyone must look out for one another’s welfare.
According to Mr. Ameyibor, medical professionals would use the weekly health discussion platform as a helpful communication tool to educate the public about general health concerns and preventive measures.
