Mangaluru: The Department of Public Health Dentistry, Yenepoya Dental College, in collaboration with The Yenepoya School, launched the BrushYen programme to promote oral hygiene among schoolchildren on Wednesday.The supervised tooth-brushing initiative was inaugurated at The Yenepoya School auditorium. Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of quality education and good health and well-being, the programme aims to inculcate lifelong oral hygiene habits among children.The event was attended by Dr Sunil S Chiplunkar, vice-president, Group Pharmaceutical, Bengaluru; Dr Laxmikanth Chatra, principal, Yenepoya Dental College; Dr Sham S Bhat, dean, faculty of dentistry; Anthony Joseph, associate director, The Yenepoya School and Uzwal Menezes, principal, The Yenepoya School.Speaking on the occasion, Dr Chatra said educational and medical institutions had a shared responsibility to promote public health. He stressed the importance of maintaining good dental hygiene from an early age to prevent oral health complications later in life.The BrushYen website was also launched during the programme. Dr Imran Pasha M, HoD of public health dentistry, outlined the initiative’s objectives and long-term implementation plans. The event concluded with a demonstration of supervised tooth-brushing using fluoridated toothpaste. The dental outreach team later began visits to preschool students at Akshara House of Children, the preschool wing of The Yenepoya School.The initiative seeks to strengthen collaboration between healthcare and educational institutions, and promote better oral health among children.
