Akwatia, July 15, GNA - An ultra-modern dental clinic has been inaugurated at Saint Dominic Hospital at Akwatia in Kwaebibirem District to cater for the dental care of the people and beyond. It is one of 11 dental facilities being provided under the Government's Ghana Dental Project to ensure availability and access to essential health services of high quality for individuals, especially those in deprived communities.

Under the project, two types of facilities consisting of 10 dental surgeries where dental surgeons would be involved in more complex and rehabilitative procedures and other centres where oral health promotion and preventive activities would take place.

Dr Mrs Constance Addo Yobo, Chief Dental Surgeon, inaugurating the Akwatia project, said it included provision of timely and appropriate oral health care, allocation of resources equitably and effectively to achieve maximum health care.

Others were strengthening school oral health programme by promoting regular check-ups and preventive care for school children, improve access to affordable timely oral health care and promotion of greater national consistency in oral health goals and service standards. Dr Addo Yobo however, noted that the main challenge of the project was to ensure a sufficient, sustainable and appropriately skilled work force to meet identified oral needs of Ghanaians. She was optimistic that contributions from the project towards the training of middle level and health personnel would meet that challenge and commended the Netherlands Government and ORET Fund for their assistance to the project.

Most Reverend Joseph Afrifah-Agyekum, Catholic Bishop of Koforidua said the dental clinic was the result of partnership between the Catholic Church and Government in health care delivery. He appealed to government for assistance to the Church to provide the needed equipment for their health facilities and other mission hospitals in the country.

Dr Mrs Mercy Dawson, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, called on the people to take advantage of the clinic to ensure that their dental problems were solved adding "teeth should last a lifetime".