HUMAN and financial resources are critical if Barbados is to sustain a healthy dental national programme.
This is the view of Minister of Health Donville Inniss as he addressed an oral health promotion at Jubilee Gardens last Saturday as part of Oral Health Month.
Inniss, who said that Government could not sustain the national dental programme alone, conceded that it was not at the level he would like to see. He also said there was a need for the general public to pay greater attention to their oral care.
The minister accepted a range of product samples from the organisers Colgate Palmolive, intended for use in the Government dental clinics.
In sensitising Barbadians to good health care, Inniss said health challenges could be easily diagnosed with regular check-ups and stressed the need to have your teeth checked twice a year.
He said good oral care was also important for diabetics, who sometimes developed serious oral challenges.
“It is important that in this wholistic approach that we do not forget good oral care.
“Within the ministry of health I will admit that our dental programme is not at the level that I would like to see it at, but plans are being put in place to enhance it,” he noted.
Chief Dental Officer Dr Fannye Thompson encouraged more Barbadians to avail themselves of the opportunities for improved oral health and hygiene by attending one of the dental screening events remaining in the month.
She said recent studies had shown that there was a connection between oral care and systematic health, and told those gathered that “the way to a healthy body starts with a healthy mouth”. (CT)