Prof. Bunmi Orenuga, Associate Professor of Child Dental Health, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, has advised parents to always bring their wards to dentist regularly to prevent them developing mouth odour.

Orenuga gave the advice at a programme organised by the Department of Child Dental Health, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, on Tuesday in Lagos to celebrate the 2019 Children’s Day.

She said that mouth odour could reduce a child’s self-confidence.

Orenuga said that it was the parents’ duty to bring their wards to the dentist even before their teeth started coming out.

“Offensive odour from the mouth of a child can diminish his or her self-esteem and confidence.

“The mouth is the gateway to the rest of the body and if you have a good mouth, you will have a lot of self-confidence and you can talk freely in public.

“A good set of well-maintained teeth will also make people fall in love with them which can be achieved if they know their dentist at an early age.

“They also need to take good foods for the whole of their body system to function properly,’’ the don said.

According to her, many parents delay treatment of their children’s illnesses until they go out of hand and become irredeemable.

“We started this event about 10 years ago because we observed that a lot of people were not aware of their dental health.

“Also, a lot of people don’t bring their children to the clinic at the right time, until the sickness becomes irredeemable.

“By the time they come, we are left with the option of removing the tooth which we really may not want these young ones to experience.

“This is the main reason we came up with this idea of educating children on how to take care of their teeth,’’ Orenuga said.

Two participants and students of University of Lagos Primary School told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that they were happy to be educated on ways to take good care of their teeth.

Praise Rotimi said she was very happy and grateful to the organisers of the programme for teaching her on teeth maintenance.

“I want to thank the Management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for inviting us here to learn about how we care for and maintain a healthy set of teeth,’’ Rotimi said.

Also speaking, Iyanuoluwa Aderibigbe said that she was always looking forward to when a dentist would check her teeth.

Aderibigbe promised that she would start taking proper care of her teeth and visit the dentist regularly.