HEAD of the School of Public Health at the University of Technology (UTech) Professor Winston Davidson has urged young Jamaicans to quit smoking and pay more attention to their oral health.
At the same time, Dr Davidson, who was speaking at Tuesday's launch of Oral Health Month at the University of Technology, said that the move was crucial in improving the country's dental care services.
"We have seen less and less persons smoking cigarettes but the young people are still smoking ganja. And we know the effects ganja has, just like any other smoking, on dental hygiene," said Dr Davidson, noting that smoking causes dental cavities; cancer of the lip, tongue, and throat, brain abscesses; and also contributes to diabetes.
Dr Davidson said that despite improvements in Jamaica's oral health care over the decades, the country still had a long way to go. Young people, he said, have a significant part to play in "lifting the bar.
"The partnership to lift the health conditions of this country to new heights has to begin with encouraging our young people to train. There are great opportunities in the area of oral health sciences," said Dr Davidson.
"This university offers those opportunities. And we, as part of the health team, doctors, dentists, public health professionals, the School of Oral Sciences, are ready in this partnership," he continued. "We are encouraging you to be part of this partnership, this march into the future to achieve our vision of full health care for all, and to building Jamaica land we love," he said.
According to Dr Davidson, young people should pursue a career in oral health care as Jamaica has far less practitioners than required to adequately serve the population.
He outlined that there is one dental nurse to every 170,000 Jamaicans, one dental hygienist to every 155,000 Jamaicans, and one dental technician to every 120,000 Jamaicans. These figures, he said, should be increased to 1:800, 1:700, and 1:750, respectively, in order for Jamaica to compare internationally.
The theme of Tuesday's launch, which was sponsored by Kirk Distributors Ltd and Colgate, was "a lifetime of smiles begin with the first tooth."
For the month, Kirk Distributors Ltd will be sponsoring a string of public dental clinics, the first of which was held last Saturday in downtown, Kingston, said Keisha Cardoza, marketing manager at the company.
The Ministry of Health and the Jamaica Dental Association will also embark on several oral health initiatives during the period.
These include: a visit to the Savanna-la-Mar Infirmary; a dental symposium at the Knutsford Court Hotel, a visit to the Salvation Army on October 7, and a visit to the Tredegar Park Primary School in St Catherine, on October 10.
Tuesday's launch featured performances on oral health care from students of Cockburn Gardens Primary and Junior High School. It also featured the first 'coating ceremony' of final year students from the School of Dental Sciences.
Two students, Latoya Hamil and Tamesha Spooner, were granted scholarships for their academic performances.
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