Sachin Tendulkar bats for oral health

In a move to promote oral hygiene, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was named as ‘Smile Ambassador’ by the Maharashtra government as part of the Swachh Mukh Abhiyan (SMA) campaign.

The SMA or Clean Mouth Mission is a national campaign of Indian Dental Association (IDA) to improve oral health and hygiene and educate people about good oral hygiene and how to achieve it as part of total fitness.

The MoU between Tendulkar and the SMA of Maharashtra government was signed on Tuesday in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan and Dr Sandesh Mayekar.

“When we look at health, we must look at totality, which include mental health and oral health as well among other things,” said 50-year-old Tendulkar, who is the recipient of Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour of India.

Simply explained, SMA promotes five key messages as the very basics of 'swachh mukh', which would help people to develop and maintain a healthy mouth.

These are: Brush your teeth once in the morning and last thing at night with a fluoride toothpaste, rinse your mouth after consumption of food or drinks, eat a healthy diet to provide the nutrients necessary (vitamins A and C, in particular) to prevent gum disease and reduce intake of sugary foods and drink, avoid cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, which are known to contribute to gum disease and oral cancer, visit the dentist at least twice a year for routine examination and cleaning.