A medical aid organization is embarking on free dental services in Kwara State. The group; ERAMSE African Dental Aid Foundation has been carrying out their operations from premises of the Rhema Chapel International, Tanke, as well as other locations in Ilorin, the state capital.

Aside dental care services, ERAMSE is also carrying out preliminary tests and recommendations for plastic surgeries, cardio vascular conditions and other oral health care.

The Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Mrs. Shade Ajayi- Akinsulire, said her organization embarked on the exercise as a way of helping the poor.

According to her, poverty, especially in Africa is responsible for many diseases while oral illhealth is passive contributor to poor health due to ignorance that also perpetuates a vicious cycle of poor health and poverty.

She said many Nigerians believe that oral health is only for the rich, as this is responsible for the apathy to visit dentists for treatment.

Ajayi-Akinsulire also lamented the dental decay among children, which has reached a pandemic proportions going by a 2010 report which stated that between 25 and 80 percent of respondents had never been to a dentist.

She said aim of the organization is to provide early intervention programme which increases oral health literacy and promotes oral care habits. This will help to ensure that children grow into adulthood without experiencing oral-disease.