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.
Dear Editor,
I wish to use this esteemed platform to urge the traditional councils of Osu and La to call for independent investigation into the recent demolition exercise at Kaajaano.
The exercise rendered hundreds homeless.
Information about the reason for the demolition has been scanty with those desiring to know feeding heavily on social media posts.
One particular name –Jato, has been associated with it but under whose instruction the exercise was carried is also not known.
Sadly, instead of getting to know who ordered the demolition and for what reasons, traditional authorities of Osu and La have been embroiled in a tug-of-war over ownership of the said land.
This is premature. At this moment, they should call for investigation into the exercise to know the people behind it.
When that is done, then discussions about the owners of the site can begin. That would end the posture of the two neighbouring town which has the potential to turn into something else.
Ataa Osa Mensah,
Osu
Dear Editor,
I wish to use your respected platform to draw the attention of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to the behaviour of traders and some drivers about the use of lower denomination coins, specifically the 20 and 10 pesewas.
About two weeks ago, I read in your sister newspaper, The Ghanaian Times about this problem and the caution that followed from the BoG and some economic analysts.
The warning they gave was that the continuous rejection of the notes could create pricing problems which can eventually affect inflation.
I thought that would put to bed that practice or refusal to accept the coins when given out as change or use to pay for particular service.
Unfortunately, the problem still persist among traders, drivers, customers and passengers alike. Only last week, there was as altercation in the Accra Central area where a woman refused to accept five 20 pesewas note totaling one cedi.
As the argument continued, the trader decided not to sell to the customer again after by-standers explained to her that it was still a legal tender and those that refused it could become offenders.
This is an issue the BoG and other regulatory agencies must go and explain to the people and let them know that it is unlawful not to accept a currency that is still in use.
It nothing was done, it could create a much more serious problems.
Mary Osei Badu,
Swedru
