In 2007, 117,000
students in India brushed their teeth simultaneously for one minute at
different locations, thus entering the Guinness Book of World Record, a
record that has lasted for six years.
In Lagos the students
achieved this feat by brushing their teeth simultaneously for one minute
across 326 multiple locations across Lagos State, with the main
location being Teslim Balogun Stadium where thousands of students
undertook the exercise.
At exactly, 2.15 pm on Thursday, Project
Head of HEIT Solutions, Dr. Lawal Bakare, convener of the Tooth brushing
Challenge Project, signaled on the students to begin brushing their
teeth and called on them to stop at 2.16 pm.
Unilever Nigeria
Limited, one of the sponsors of the event provided the tooth brush and
toothpaste used in the challenge, while the Lagos State Government
partnered with HEIT Solution to undertake the tooth brushing challenge.
Special
Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Public Health, Dr. Yewande
Adeshina commended the students for being part of the feat, describing
it as historic for their generation, saying that there was need for them
to pay more attention to their oral health, as doing so, would impact
on their general well being and ensure they lived long.
According
to her, the government explored the tooth brushing challenge as a means
to build positive oral health behaviours among young people and use them
to influence change in older people, while restating government`s
commitment to the provision of affordable dental care, as a good number
of health facilities had been equipped to demonstrate that commitment.
He said the new record is subject to verification by officials of the
Guinness Book of Records after the report from all the locations is
collated, upon which certificate will be presented as the official World
Record holders.
Convener of the tooth brushing challenge, Bakare
explained that school children were chosen for the project because they
were still at a stage when they could embrace new behaviours and
attitudes.
“You are the essence of this challenge, we gathered
here because we believe that you are supposed to have better oral
health. Most of you do not know that when you don’t have your teeth, you
would not grow as you ought to, so we are trying to make you remember
three things; brush twice a day, brush using the appropriate technique
and visit the dentist regularly,’ he stated.
According to the
Brand Manager, Unilever (Close Up), Mr. Kester Abiola, less than 50
percent of Nigerians brush their teeth twice a day as that was not good
enough, adding that 17 percent of the population had toothaches due to
improper and irregular tooth brushing, which he said, could be corrected
with good oral hygiene.
“Unilever has supported oral health in
Nigeria for over eight decades; its Close-Up brand was produced to meet
the oral health needs of Nigerians. Unilever is 90 years old and over
the years, we have continued to come up with products to ensure oral
health of citizens, especially children. Close Up tooth paste is a
family brand anytime any day and we are proud to be part of history
making,” he said.
Source: PM news
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