P&G, Oral B Partners Federal Ministry of Health to Provide Access to Oral Health Care

29th March 2021. Lagos, Nigeria: In furtherance of its commitment to promoting oral health and hygiene, leading consumer goods company, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Nigeria, through its Oral- B brand, partnered with the Federal Ministry of Health to celebrate this year’s World Oral Health Day through community outreach in the Jiwa Community in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The outreach will offer oral health awareness, free dental checks, and a month’s supply of Oral B toothpaste and toothbrushes to members of the Jiwa Community.

The long-standing partnership between P&G, Oral B, and the Federal Ministry of Health strengthens Oral-B’s commitment to healthier, stronger teeth and Procter & Gamble’s purpose of touching and improving the lives of people in the communities where it operates.

Commenting on the initiative, the P&G Senior Director for Africa, Global Government Relations & Public Policy, Dr. Mrs. Temitope Iluyemi, revealed that Procter & Gamble is excited to continue the partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health to promote oral health and hygiene in Nigeria, stating that the Oral B brand has over the years partnered with dentists across the country to elevate the role of oral health of over 10 million Nigerians through its Mobile Dental Clinic Program.

“Oral hygiene should not be overlooked, most especially in terms of its effects on the general health and nutrition of people. Effective oral care reduces infection and promotes health, thus the need to drive awareness. The World Oral Health Day presents an opportunity to amplify this oral health drive which our brand has actively driven through the year.” Dr. Mrs. Iluyemi said. She further encouraged Nigerians not to underrate the effect of poor oral hygiene as it can negatively affect confidence and social skills. “Oral health is very essential to human’s general health and wellbeing”, she explained.

While commending P&G for its efforts in promoting oral health, the Director of Dentistry Division of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Bola Alonge, in her remarks noted that “proper oral health practices are important to ensure good general health. A lot of people have not had dental checks. As a result, we need to leverage this World Oral Health Day to drive oral health sensitization at the grassroots especially in areas with limited access to quality health care.

She added: “This is why we partnered with P&G and Oral-B on this community outreach where dentists will be available to conduct free oral health check for community members who will also a month supply of Oral-B toothpaste and Oral B toothbrush. The outreach will also include oral health training for the community leaders and other members”.

As a company, Procter & Gamble has reached millions of Nigerians through its citizenship programs. The Oral B Mobile Dental Clinic Program is committed to reaching 10 million more Nigerians with free dental checks over the next four years. Also, the P&G’s Children Safe Drinking Water program (CSDW) has provided hundreds of million litres of safe drinking water in Nigeria helping to prevent possible death and disease from contaminated water.