Appolonia Adeyemi 
L-r: Immediate Past President, Nigerian Association of Orthodontists (NAO), Dr. Amy-Traore Shumbusho; Secretary General, Dr. Moni Ernest; Chairperson, Local Organising Committee, 2023 NAO Scientific Conference, Dr. Kike Adegbite; Financial Secretary, Dr ‘Wande Ajisafe; President, NAO, Dr. Modupe Adeyinka; Vice President, Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu; Treasurer, Dr. Ize Akpasa; and the immediate past, Secretary General of the association, Dr. Ikenna Isiekwe during the NAO 17th Scientific Conference & AGM, which held at the Marriot Hotel Ikeja, Lagos.
The Nigerian Association of Orthodontists (NAO) has said that including the treatment and management of poor dentition in the National Health Insurance scheme, could expand the number of persons receiving care, build smiles, and self-confidence as well as enhance psychosocial well-being.
While the association lamented that issues of poor dentition were generally perceived as ‘aesthetics,’ it highlighted that it ill-feelings from numerous cases without access to treatment, often build-up, resulting in other health challenges.
NOS President, Dr. Modupe Olayinka Adeyinka who made the call while addressing the media in Lagos recently, said it was time issues of poor dentition were prioritised, giving them a special place in the scheme of things while instituting policy changes to address the menace.
She spoke during the 17th Scientific Conference & Annual General (AGM) of the NAO, which was held at the Marriot Hotel in Ikeja Lagos.
The theme of the conference is ‘Aesthetic Orthodontics: Rising to The Next Level,’ while the subtheme is ‘The Art of Aesthetic Dental Health Delivery’.
Considering that many Nigerians with problems of poor dentition are poor, Dr. Adeyinka reasoned that they cannot afford needed treatment; hence the need for health insurance.
Similarly, he admitted that including this in the NHIS could pave the way for Nigerians particularly children with cleft lip and palate issues and others to access typically needed healthcare in that area.
According to Adeyinka, government policies on health, especially on the primary healthcare (PHC) level, should be mindful of cleft lip and palate babies and their families.
Founded in 2004, the NAO has 69 registered orthodontic specialists.
“With a teeming population of over two hundred million and less than a hundred practicing orthodontists, there is obviously a dearth of orthodontists in this great country of ours,” said the president of NAO.
“Orthodontists are specialists trained in the correction of all manners of malalignment of the teeth and the jaws. They play a crucial role in delivering optimal oral health care to the population by correcting and managing malocclusions which most of the time, if not treated, can be debilitating both functionally and mentally.”
They also play a major and critical role in the management and rehabilitation of babies born with cleft lip and palate and managing them through their childhood, adolescence into adulthood along with other specialists.
“Most of these patients come from low-income families, and orthodontists help ease the burden of care for these patients through their timely and expert intervention.”
Furthermore, she said, “Every orthodontist is a dentist, not every dentist is an orthodontist. It is important to make this clarification as orthodontists are specially trained to treat malocclusion by moving teeth and altering jaw relationships using different techniques.”
Adeyinka said, “The aim of our Association is to promote excellence in the standards of clinical practice, improve didactic, practical and clinical training and promote innovative research in orthodontics.”
