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 AM writing to draw your attention to the inadequate street lights in some parts of Wawase, a situation that continues to pose serious concerns for residents.
Street lights play a crucial role in ensuring safety and security within a community. Unfortunately, several areas in Wawase are completely without functioning street lights.
This has made movement at night very difficult and dangerous, especially for workers, students, and traders who return home late.
The lack of proper lighting has also created an enabling environment for criminal activities such as theft and harassment. Residents often live in fear, and some are forced to limit their movements after dark. Additionally, poor visibility increases the risk of road accidents, putting both pedestrians and drivers at risk.
It is concerning that despite the growing population and development in Wawase, this basic infrastructure issue remains unresolved.
I would like to appeal to the relevant authorities, including the local assembly and electricity providers, to urgently address this problem by installing new street lights and repairing faulty ones.
Ensuring adequate street lights will not only improve security but also enhance the overall quality of life for residents in the area.
Gwen Mensah, Agona Swedru
Dear Editor,
FOR some time now, I have been deeply concerned about the state of the Kaneshie footbridge, which has over the years developed cracks, exposing some rusted metal parts and raising safety concerns.
It is, therefore, welcome news for daily users of the facility like myself that a team from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), led by the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), visited the facility and announced a temporary closure to allow for maintenance work to be carried out.
While I wish to commend the Assembly for the move, I believe it has been long overdue.
I often find it difficult to understand why, as a country, we sit, wait, and watch for preventable incidents or tragedies to happen before we react. I say this because the issue of the bad state of the Kaneshie footbridge has been one that has been re-echoed by many who use it on a daily basis.
I believe that as the Assembly looks to start the maintenance works on the footbridge, it is also important for it and other Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to pay attention to other footbridges across the country that are in a similar state.
The time has come for Ghana, as a country, to be more proactive than reactive.
I will also urge the assemblies to deploy their respective teams to always check on footbridges across the country to ensure that they are in good shape to avoid any tragedy that could lead to the loss of human lives.
From Fafa, Kaneshie
