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Orthodontists urge local treatment of ailment, task adults on teeth care

By Ijeoma Thomas-Odia
29 September 2016   |   4:20 am
The Nigerian Association of Orthodontists has said competent practitioners abound in the country, insisting it is no longer necessary to travel abroad for treatment.
Special guest and Publisher, The Guardian, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru (left), keynote Speaker, Dr. Norvishie Arkutu, chairman of the occasion, Dr. Sonny Kuku, President, Nigerian Association of Orthodontists, Dr. Ifeoma Utomi and her husband, Professor Pat Utomi, during the orthodontists’ 10th Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting, at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island Lagos…yesterday PHOTO: OSENI YUSUF.

Special guest and Publisher, The Guardian, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru (left), keynote Speaker, Dr. Norvishie Arkutu, chairman of the occasion, Dr. Sonny Kuku, President, Nigerian Association of Orthodontists, Dr. Ifeoma Utomi and her husband, Professor Pat Utomi, during the orthodontists’ 10th Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting, at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island Lagos…yesterday PHOTO: OSENI YUSUF.

The Nigerian Association of Orthodontists has said competent practitioners abound in the country, insisting it is no longer necessary to travel abroad for treatment.

At the association’s 10th conference and annual general meeting in Lagos yesterday, its president, Dr. Ifeoma Utomi said: “Part of the problem is that some people are not aware that there are problems while others do not know that these can be treated here and some Nigerians still go abroad to seek solution.”

Utomi maintained that clinical evidence shows that more adults are coming for treatment, noting that, “this is very apt since the appliances used today are being fashioned to suit adults especially with invisible braces, which is comfortable unlike the metallic braces.”

The keynote speaker, an orthodontist, Dr. Norvishie Arkutu, said that adults have a say of where they want things to be done and how, unlike children.

“For an orthodontic treatment, it should take a maximum of two years. The biggest driving force for an adult seeking orthodontic procedure can be cosmetic and this gives an elevated self-improvement and self-awareness which contributes towards their personal lives and help them especially with approaching their future spouses and employment,” she said.

According to Arkutu, “Adults need a different sort of management, so, we are asking our public to inform themselves. The more technology there is, the more options there are. The technologies and advancement in orthodontic treatment mean that what we are able to do in a relatively short period of time is actually quite phenomenal.”

Publisher of The Guardian, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, in her remarks advised people to care for their teeth by brushing twice daily as well as visiting the dentist at least once a year.

“What orthodontics does is to repair you and make you look better. Essentially some people are not blessed with a good set of teeth, some due to carelessness, too much sweets, and decay, most importantly those involved in accidents too,” she said.

Ibru said these make orthodontics an integral part of dentistry “and we thank God that this area of medicine exists. It is also important to visit the right place and expert when the need arises; I have never had a need for it, I am just lucky and I think it is genetic.

According to her, the teeth are some of the first things to attract a person and “when you see someone you talk and smile and they are exposed, so it is important to take care of them.”

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