Dar es Salaam
In the wake of World Oral Health Day on 20 March 2022, Tanzanians have been urged to take oral health care seriously as it is the gateway to quality health and life.
Alternatively, it is the gateway to adverse health, including chronic diseases, depending on how one treats the mouth.
Dr Donna Williams- Ngirwa, a renowned dental surgeon with dentistry practice of over 30 years, asserted in a statement issued by her Dar es Salaam based dental practice, Afya Bora Complete Dentistry Ltd. 7 Regent Street.
The theme of World Oral Health Day is “Be proud of your mouth. In other words, value and take care of it.” According to Dr Williams- Ngirwa it is a mantra we should observe daily. The importance of prevention and going to visit your dentist twice a year, cannot be gainsaid. “Many dental conditions are silent and are not painful until the severe stages,” she said.
She noted in her sojourns in Tanzania, she has seen many people eating healthy, exercising and getting fit, and getting into great shape.
“It is just as important to get their oral health into great shape. Visiting your dentist twice a year is an important step to improve your total overall health.
“There is a need for deliberate mass education to make more people realize that the mouth is the gateway to a healthy body and take necessary precautions to stay and remain healthy,” she said.
“They say we are what we eat, yes..but this extends past our digestive system into your overall oral health. We have some oral conditions that contribute to systemic illnesses such as diabetes, heart attacks, stroke, and dementia,” she said.
She said that often people are not aware of the connection between oral health and overall health. “Preventive oral health care is very vital. It acts as a barrier for your body from getting diseases. It becomes a fertile ground for diseases to enter your body if not taken care of,” she noted.
In essence, most oral health conditions are preventable. They can be treated in their early stages. If not treated, they develop into severe health conditions, she said.
Dr Williams- Ngirwa pledged that her new practice in Dar es Salaam would maintain international standards in dentistry, including the use of the latest technology, while adhering to best medical practise, including customer care. In America, she founded Morningside Dental Care, based in New York, back in 1995, which provides comprehensive state of the art dental care.
“I am a believer in complete dentistry- where our biggest emphasis is prevention and early intervention. We also offer comprehensive and most advanced dental care on simple or complicated issues,” she noted. The author of the book “The Power Of A Smile: How Complete Health Dentistry Is Revolutionizing America” stressed that she is looking forward to “complete health dentistry” taking root in Tanzania. Dr Williams- Ngirwa has lived in Tanzania for over 2 years, and have been traveling back and forth from the US to TZ almost every year since 1985
World Oral Health Day is an initiative of the FDI World Dental Federation, an organization that brings together over one million dentists worldwide, which seeks optimal oral health for everyone. Dr. Donna noted that she feels proud to be celebrating “Afya ya Kinywa na meno” in Tanzania.