TV9 Network and Sensodyne partner to spread oral health awareness with #TakeTheFirstStep

Delhi: After the inaugural summit, TV9 Network and Sensodyne partnered again to urge people to #TakeTheFirstStep and pledge to follow their funda-dental duties. Experts and dignitaries from various segments of dental sciences gathered to engage in discussions around oral health problems.

Key dignitaries from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Niti Aayog, Indian Dental Association, National Oral Health Forum and Dental Council of India graced the occasion with their presence.

Applauding the initiative, Bharati Pawar, MoS – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH and FW) said, “Oral health is key part of the overall health and lifestyle of the people. In the past 10 years initiatives have been taken up to promote oral hygiene awareness. Along with other areas and sectors, dental sciences as a segment have grown leaps and bounds. The number of dental science colleges has increased from 304 before 2014 to 323 colleges in 2024. Along with the colleges, there has been an increase of 14% in BDS courses. All these initiatives are being taken to ensure that oral hygiene maintenance is accessible to the remotest of villages. We need to prioritise and promote dental hygiene in every city and every village, and I am glad that TV9 Network and Sensodyne have partnered up to spread the much-needed awareness.” 

Talking about the campaign and the need of oral health awareness further, Rajiv Manjhi, Joint Secretary, MoH and FW added, “Today, only 35% of the people have oral health seeking behaviour. Under various government initiatives, we have managed to bring down the out-of-pocket expenditure. When it comes to taking the first step towards oral health, it has to be prevention. Under the National Health Mission, we have given the state governments means to take the awareness generation of oral hygiene to district and sub-district levels. This shall ensure and increase the percentage of people who have oral health seeking behaviour.”

Navneet Saluja, BU-GM, Indian Sub-continent, Haleon, said, “India has progressed, but we still have a long way to go when it comes to oral hygiene. Our aim is to reach every Indian and spread awareness because if our teeth don’t support us, our body shall start deteriorating. In India 3 out of 5 people, face oral health issues like sensitivity, bleeding gums etc. These problems are pertinent to age but the precaution and prevention of these starts at a younger age, and we need to talk to the youth about the same.”

Going beyond the oral hygiene awareness, and addressing the various aspects of dental ecosystem, Sumita Ghosh, OSD (Health), Niti Aayog, said, “We need to bridge the gap between the doctors and the mindset people have that dentists are secondary. Mouth is not separate from the body, it is the opening of the body because food, ingestion, immunity, and a lot more things are controlled from oral hygiene.”

The occasion was graced by Padmshree Mahesh Verma, VC, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprasth University, Padmbhushan Anil Kohli, Former President, DCI, Ritu Duggal, Chief, Centre for Dental Education and Research, AIIMS, Sharad Kapoor, Member- DCI, Chairman, National Oral Health Forum and Rajiv Kumar Chugh, Immediate Past President, IDA.

Expressing her heartfelt gratitude to the audience, Anurita Chopra, Chief Marketing Office, Indian Sub-continent, Haleon, stated, “Driving this oral health initiative is an important milestone. Change can be initiated in small steps and that is how we take the first step. At Sensodyne we want to spread awareness for all Indians. I would like to thank TV9 Network and everyone who helped us scale the initiative and take the first step.”

Raktim Das, Chief Growth Office (Broadcasting and Digital), said, “We are glad to have partnered with Sensodyne to spread the message of oral health. We look forward to partnering with them to ensure the awareness of oral health reaches to all regions of the country with our reach and impact.”

The key highlights of the summit were aired on TV9 Bharatvarsh on the World Oral Health Day on March 20.