Health
Dentists Blame Decay, Gum Disease For Teeth Loss
Some dentists in Lagos
last Saturday attributed the increasing rate of loss of teeth among adults to decay and gum diseases.
The Dean, Faculty of Dentistry, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Prof. Godwin Arotiba, said losing a tooth prematurely might have “serious’’ consequences.
“If you lose a tooth, the consequences are minimal, but still can be serious because the adjacent and opposite teeth will tilt into the space and may affect the joint in front of the ear.
“But the effect of losing many teeth is aesthetic because it will affect the structure of the face, including your looks and that will definitely affect the way you feel.
“The psychological and social consequences of tooth loss can be profound, as it will affect speech, interaction with people, chewing, eating habits, thereby affecting general health, “ Arotiba said.
He urged Nigerians to replace any tooth or teeth lost with dentures or dental implants which had health-related advantages.
According to him, some of the advantages of dentures or dental implants include the absence of decay and gum disease.
Arotiba advised people to avoid risks that might lead to decay and gum diseases such as tobacco smoking and bad eating habits among others.
“People should have the habit of visiting the dentist if they suspect any tooth decay, a hole in the tooth or gum disease for appropriate steps to be taken in order to have a healthy teeth.’’
Also speaking, a Consultant Dental Surgeon, University of Ibadan, Prof. Gbemisola Oke,also told newsmen that many Nigerians often lose their teeth, but that the pattern of loss differed between the affluent and the rural dwellers.
“While the affluent will lose their teeth, particularly the first molar to decay, the rural ones will probably lose the same teeth or the front teeth to gum disease,’’ she said.
Oke said that Nigerians were still better than their counterparts in other developed countries in terms of decay.
“Essentially because our own diets do not contain much sugar, therefore, loss of tooth as a result of tooth decay appears to be less than those in the industrialised countries.’’
The professor also stressed that gum disease had remained a problem in Nigeria, noting that it had become pervasive as virtually everybody would suffer from one form of infection or the other.
According to Oke, if gum disease is left untreated for a long period of time, it will result to tooth loss.
She urged people to use toothpastes that contain fluoride as it helped in the reduction of tooth decay and maintenance of good oral hygiene.
Dr BolanleAkinboboye, a consultant at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, said the life expectancy of teeth in Nigeria was still high.
Akinboboye said: “There has been no general survey on missing teeth in the country recently.
“But surveys done in the past show that many elderly and people in their 30s still have more than 20 teeth in their mouths.
“This is encouraging, but still people need to cultivate the habit of visiting the dentists at least twice in a year for a well maintained oral health throughout their life time,” Akinboboye said.
Another dentist with a General Hospital in Ekiti, Dr Bola Idowu, also noted that there were increasing cases of tooth decay among children.
Idowu said the high level of tooth decay among children had made it imperative for parents to inculcate the habit brushing their teeth twice daily at least during their formative years.
“It is the duty of parents to teach their children how to brush and especially twice in a day and also every time such children eat foods that contain lots of sugar,” he said.
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.