The women sat next to each other at the saloon. Their conversation centred around a two-year-old boy’s mouth one of them said smells when he wakes up.
“I do not see this any more as a problem. I am talking from experience. I observed this in my children at babyhood. This smell disappears without me having to use any medication as the baby matures and I start to clean his mouth with a baby toothbrush and paste. I think it is largely due to what he eats” retorted Mrs Ada Hammed, a school teacher and a mother of two.
But in Mrs Helen Nwosu’s opinion, “children whose mouth smells the most are those that suck their fingers. It is very bad when they wake up in the morning after sucking the whole night.”
Most children have ‘bad breath’ when they wake up. This usually goes away after the child has something to eat and drink and cleans her teeth. This sort of bad breath isn’t anything to worry about. However, a persistent smelly mouth in a child most often is due to poor cleaning of the mouth; hole in the tooth with decaying food particles stuck in it, dehydration and gum disease, said DrFechiNkwocha, a consultant orthodontist at the Department of Child oral health, University College Hospital, Ibadan.
Dr Nkwocha spoke at a sideline of the 2022 World Oral Day celebration at the Oyo State Ministry of health.
She said that smelly breath can occur in any age group, and children are not exempted, adding, “It is peculiar particularly for children in a difficult situation, because many times, their parents or caregivers don’t give them attention, including their teeth, to have a smelly breath.”
For proper oral hygiene, children are expected to start to see the dentist once they are one year old. “At those times, we educate the mothers on what type of toothbrushes to use to clean the children’s teeth. There is the small toothbrush soft toothbrush and toothpaste meant for them; we teach them to use a smear of the toothpaste on the brush to clean children’s teeth,” she added.
She said cleaning of the teeth and tongue in children should start the moment the teeth show up in the mouth and it should be with a soft toothbrush and not with a soft fabric, cotton wool or foam.
According to her, “brushing the teeth is to remove the left-over from the mouth, and to clean the teeth of the thin layer of bacteria. When the mouth is not properly cleaned, you have an accumulation of plaque sitting on the teeth and the gums get irritated, become swollen and can bleed. And once there is bleeding in the mouth, it gives way to a bad odour.
“Even in toddlers who are yet to really start cutting teeth, breast milk can accumulate on the surface of the tongue. If this is not cleaned off, it can cause odour.”
However, she added that bad breath in children can be because of the foods they are fed, especially the older ones who have outgrown breast milk. Foods containing condiments like garlic and ginger can cause bad breath.
In addition, she said somebody conditions in children can cause bad breath. For instance, children are not immune to cancer. Odours can also emanate from the mouth and the nose as bad breath when there is a cancer of the lung, liver or other internal organs. Any swelling in the nose like enlarged tonsils when it blocks the airway can cause bad breath.
Children who breathe through their mouth while sleeping has a higher chance of having bad breath than children who don’t mouth breathe. Mouth breathing can dry the lining of the mouth, leading to a decrease in the flow of saliva. This results in a release of foul-smelling bacteria in the mouth.
Moreover, a foreign object stuck up the nose, such as a bead or piece of food, is common in this age group. This can also result in bad breath odour. When this is the case, the child usually also has foul-smelling, and often green, discharge from the nose, often from just one nostril. In these instances, the odour may be remarkable and gets worse quickly.
For mothers concerned about bad breath in their children, DrNkwocha suggested not waiting until the child develops a smelly mouth before commencing regular visits to the dentist.
She stated: “Don’t wait for the child to complain or have any pain; we prefer to see children when they don’t have pain. Let them start getting used to the dentist, the dental clinic and dental practices. There, children are thought to clean their mouth for 3 minutes each time in the morning and the last thing before they sleep.”
For good oral hygiene, she also discouraged children eaten sweets, biscuits and other sugary things. “When it comes to tooth decay, it takes a combination of these sugary things that we eat and the time the length of time it stays in contact with the teeth,” she added.
According to her, “If you have to give them sweet to eat, give it immediately after meals. After the meal, a lot of saliva is produced. And they most finish that particular snack or sweet in a short time.
“Leaving children to have snacks, including biscuits and sweets all throughout the day, can cause rampant tooth decay. This is a type of tooth decay that happens very fast and almost all the teeth are affected at the same time. Rampant tooth decay in children is difficult to treat; it rubs off their quality of life. It gives them pain from having to undergo several advanced dental procedures at a young age.
For snacks, DrNkwocha said children should be given fruits and vegetables like carrots, mangoes and apples. These are healthy and have less consequence on the teeth compared to sweets, biscuits and sweetened carbonated soft drinks.
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“Absolutely, When we came with the Buhari government in 2015 I became the minister. We were committed to a roadmap to establish a National Carrier, to concession the airports, to set up a leasing company, to establish cargo facilities and we have been doing that.”
On why the Buhari government wanted a national carrier, the minister responded: “Nigeria is situated at the centre of Africa, equidistant from all locations in Africa. 30.4 million square kilometres miles, 1.5 billion people, very green land. If Central and Eastern Africa is the belt of the continent, then Nigeria is the buckle. 200 million people and rising middle class, propensity to fly is high. Nigeria is a candidate for National Carrier.”
Sirika who insisted that the coming national carrier will be private sector driven added; “Private. Yes. 5 per cent government and no government stepping right in that company, no government control, no membership of government on board. Totally private and committed.
“Whatever we say we will do as a government since 2015, it has happened. that is why Tim Clark of Emirates, Qatar Airways and all of them are looking to go into Nigeria in multiple frequencies and multiple landing points because Nigeria is the right place for the airline business.
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