“Part of the problem is that the training is very expensive, so you find out that the government has limited resources and  as a result, the teaching hospitals where this training is done have limited funding which, eventually, makes them admit few people for the training each year. There is the need for the government to invest more in that area to encourage the training of Orthodontists,” Utomi said.

The consultant orthodontist added that the association was focusing on children to prevent and correct conditions that could affect their dentition at an early age before they grow into adults.

“Children have a certain condition which through treatment we can stop now and they won’t carry it into adulthood. Right now the paradigm is prevention, especially in a country like ours where we don’t have resources.

“The causes of malocclusion can either be environmental, genetic or it could be from the habits the children indulge in,  such as digit sucking. If we don’t treat it early the problem that would arise will be so severe that the children would need a comprehensive orthodontist treatment, meaning they will wear fixed braces which are very expensive,” Utomi added.

Also, a professor of Orthodontics at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Tosin Sanu, said that malocclusion could affect people’s self-esteem and psychological condition. “Appearance is very important in this present age; someone can even lose a job because he or she doesn’t look good.

“We are bringing the awareness to the children because they always form the majority of our patients. If we are able to recognise and identify problems in this group, they can get the needed help so that as they continue to grow, whatever the problems they have with their dentition, would be solved,” Sanu said.(MedicalWorld Nigeria)