JEDDAH, 2 June 2004 — The manufacturers of Crest toothpaste hope to team up with the ministries of health and education in a nationwide program to raise public awareness of oral health care. The program is waiting for final approval by the two ministries, who are essential to its success.
To take the program out to the wider public, the Modern Products Company, who are agents for the P&G brand in Saudi Arabia, have come up with an innovative scheme. A large mobile exhibition unit combined with a dental clinic will tour cities and villages across the Kingdom. Set up for a week in each location, the unit will offer free dental health checks for all and distribute educational materials to the public and schools in the area.
A similar traveling clinic operated inside a tent will be used in other locations. It will stay at each site for approximately three weeks and offer the same dental facilities as the exhibition unit.
“The program is very big and we need the ministries’ umbrella support, because without it, it will be seen simply as advertising,” said Turki Abdulmajid, marketing programs manager for Modern Products Company. “In effect, it is actually a public/private partnership in health education.”
Schemes like this are becoming more popular around the world as they relieve governments of the expense for public awareness campaigns and are able to employ the business skills of partner companies.
Abdulmajid felt that the school program was probably the most important aspect of the scheme. Schools will receive educational materials, talks from dentists and free samples of products. “The teachers will get some training and we also hope to interact with families,” said Abdulmajid.
The extra information will supplement the biology lessons already in the school curriculum. “Because the approach is outside the curriculum and fresh, we hope it will appeal to students in a way that formal school work might not. We need to add a bit of fun — add a character who visits schools — a sort of mascot.”
The program is based on solid research into the oral health care habits of Saudis. Only 43 percent of Saudis brush their teeth twice a day compared with other South West Asian countries where the figure is 70 percent or the US where it is 90 percent.
Spotting the symptoms of poor oral hygiene early on can considerably reduce tooth decay and mouth infections. The program highlights seven easily identifiable signs that members of the public can look out for and address.
Only half of consumers surveyed visited a dentist last year. “We hope to convince the public that by understanding the signs, their dental visits will be limited while their teeth will remain healthy,” said Abdulmajid. “The target is zero problems on visits.”
