16 Schools Experience Pepsodent’s Dental Activation on World Oral Health Day

L-R: Head Teacher, Adekunle Anglican Primary School, Makoko, Folake Akinnagbe; Category Manager, Oral Care, Unilever Nigeria, Eva Ogudu; Head Teacher, Makoko Anglican Primary School, Makoko, Olasunkanmi Oseni; Marketing Head, Personal Care, Unilever Nigeria, Oiza Gyang; Head Teacher, Aiyetoro African Church Primary School, Makoko, Patricia Okoro and Marketing Director, Unilever Nigeria, Bolanle Kehinde-Lawal during the Pepsodent World Oral Health Day school activation held in Lagos today.

As part of their efforts to deepen awareness of oral health care, Pepsodent, a prominent global toothpaste brand, recently embarked on activation in 16 primary schools in Lagos. The activation exercise, held simultaneously in schools across four locations, namely Makoko, Yaba, Surulere, and Ikeja, is part of activities lined up to commemorate the 2024 World Oral Health Day.

Some of the schools that were visited in Lagos include Makoko Primary School, Adekunle Anglican Primary School, Aiyetoro African Church Primary School, Blooming Greens Primary School, Myhoung Military Primary School, Hussey Military Primary School, Morocco Military Primary School, Military Primary School, Army Children Primary School, Ann’s Barracks School, Adebola Baptist Primary School, Estate Baptist Primary School, Baptist Primary School, Akin Jacobs Memorial Baptist Primary School; Dansol Primary School and Role Model School.

It was an afternoon of fun as kids from selected schools in Lagos were entertained with music and dance. During the activation exercise, the members of the staff of Unilever Nigeria Plc educated the kids on the significance of brushing their teeth twice daily. The message of regular brushing of teeth with toothpaste containing fluoride was echoed in the excitement of the kids. Beyond that, the kids got the opportunity for free dental check-ups as dentists and nurses were on hand to provide dental care and advice.

Making her remarks, Business Lead, Beauty Wellbeing and Personal Care, Unilever Nigeria, Oiza Gyang, noted that the commemoration of 2024 World Oral Health Day coincides with Pepsodent’s aspiration to reach 10 million children on oral health in Nigeria by 2025.

“So far, we have been able to reach 7 million children as far as oral health education is concerned. And this year, we plan to reach an additional 2 million children. We have what we call the 21-Day Program, where we ask kids to brush for 21 days. The idea is to make it a habit. So, we do so by giving them a calendar for 21 days to tick when they brush day and night. At the end of the 21st day, we reward them for keeping up with the habits,” she said.

Commenting on the activation, Category Manager, Oral Care, Unilever Nigeria, Eva Ogudu stated that the activation was done in collaboration with the Nigerian Dental Association (NDA) in 33 locations across the country. Ogudu stated that a total of 18 dentists as well as nurses have been assigned to provide professional dental care services to the kids across the country.

Also speaking, the Head Teacher, Adekunle Anglican Primary School, Makoko, Olasunkanmi Oseni, expressed profound appreciation to Unilever Nigeria for bringing such a lofty initiative to the school stating that this would go a long way to promote good oral habits among the kids.

“The ‘Talk to a Dentist’ program initiated by Pepsodent is very, very fantastic. Some of the children may not know how to brush their teeth, but as you are reminding them with rhymes and songs, they will memorize and allow the culture to be part of them, Oseni said.”

Expressing appreciation to Pepsodent for bringing free dental services as well as education on oral health, a pupil of Aiyetoro Primary School, Makoko, Jack Friday, stated that