The Trust Hospital extends dental services to Dansoman, Tema

The Trust Hospital has extended its best-in-class dental services to its satellite clinics in Dansoman and Tema. This is in line with its aim of ensuring world-class, holistic medical services are easily accessible at the most competitive rates possible.

Speaking on the rationale behind the choice of Dansoman and Tema for the expansion of its oral health services, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Trust Hospital, Dr. Juliana Oye Ameh stated that the demographic composition and location of both communities were crucial factors in the decision making process.

“We chose these locations based on statistics; where our clients come from, the population, the demographics of Tema and Dansoman. They are both industrial and commercial hubs, with a lot of working class people who typically do not have enough time to access care at other facilities… they are at the two extreme ends of Accra, as well,” she explained.

On the decision to focus on oral health, even as the pandemic continues to rage on, Dr. Oye Ameh revealed that the plan to expand these services predates the advent of COVID-19. She added that despite often being overlooked, oral health has gained increased prominence, especially as it is crucial for general health and overall quality of life.

“We know that in our context, oral health is often overlooked in favour of other services but we are also aware that the state of one’s oral health determines the state of one’s entire health. And for us as a hospital, we want to give dentistry its proper place in healthcare delivery services,” she added.

This comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that oral diseases affect 3.5 billion people worldwide and untreated dental caries/tooth decay of permanent teeth remains one of the most prevalent diseases globally.

Furthermore, in Africa, oral diseases are increasingly being recognised as a major public health problem in light of the rising NCD burden as well as its common modifiable risk factors. It is reported that approximately 400 million people suffered from some form of oral disease on the continent alone.

Further expansions

With quality dental health services few and far between, the Trust Hospital CEO says that her outfit will be extending the dental services, among other specialist services, to other satellite clinics.

The oral health services will be accessible to adults and children at these locations on Mondays to Fridays, from 8:00AM to 4:00PM, with plans to extend them to weekends in the future.