Nigeria does not have enough dentists –Akpata

A dentist examining a patient
| credits: google.com

A professor of restorative dentistry,  Enosakhare Akpata,  has said Nigeria does not have enough dentists.

He said this during an interaction with journalists at the launching of his book, Principles and Practice of Operative Dentistry: A modern Approach, in Lagos.

Describing the book as a body of knowledge for dentists, undergraduates and other practitioners in operative and restorative dentistry, Akpata noted that though the government had established more schools of dentistry, Nigeria had yet to have required number of dentists.

Akpata, who said he could not give the specific number of dentists that were in the country at present, stressed the need for government to provide more facilities for the training of undergraduates in dentistry.

He said, “I spoke with an administrator in one of our universities recently and he told me that they get more applications from prospective students who want to read dentistry but there are not enough facilities to take all of them.

“However, it must be stressed that we need more dentists to cover the huge population.”

Akpata who advised Nigerian’s to take preventive measures by taking good care of their teeth through prompt removal of any form of stains, added that the best way for an individual to maintain healthy teeth was by brushing after each meal.

He further noted that he had observed that many children were developing tooth problems in the country at present. He linked the development to their consumption of sugary items such as sweets and candies.