The event brought together pregnant women from the surrounding community for health education, presentations, and discussions all focused on the importance of oral health during pregnancy and in the early stages of a child’s life.

Dental Hygienist at the La Clery Dental Clinic, Germaine Gyan, explained that the initiative was designed to equip expecting mothers with practical knowledge on maintaining good oral health for both themselves and their babies. “We provided health education for both the mothers and the babies, but we started telling the pregnant mothers the things they need to do for them to be healthy and for their babies in turn to be healthy too. So things like cleaning your teeth, going to the dentist, as you saw the skit with the mother with an abscess crying, we told them, if you clean your teeth, you will not get an abscess, you will not have pain, you will not cry and lose your sleep at night. So that is very important for everybody, but especially for the pregnant ladies. And then we told them about the babies, what they need to do to keep the babies healthy. So they need to eat right the right things and drink water.”

The value of the information shared at the Dental Health Expo was felt firsthand by one expecting mother Sierra Augustin who attended the activity. “It was very informative, I was not expecting so much, but it was well presented, especially by the team. They worked together, they worked very well. The information was great, especially for new time moms and also for myself. I took a lot of information in that wasn't to my knowledge, but apart from that, it was very informative. I like how they were dedicated to it, and I wish they would have something like that more often for the pregnant moms.” The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition remains committed to promoting oral health as a key pillar of preventive healthcare in Saint Lucia, recognizing that healthy teeth and gums are essential to general well-being at every stage of life.

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