Pupils on the Grahamstown Primary School first rugby team were very excited to have their first ever gum guards fitted last Friday.
Pupils on the Grahamstown Primary School first rugby team were very excited to have their first ever gum guards fitted last Friday.
Settlers' Day Hospital Dental Clinic doctors and nurses visited the school to donate guards and tooth brushes and teach the kids a thing or two about oral hygiene.
Clinic dentist PJ "Kosie" De Klerk explained that gum guards help to protect the teeth and jaws in a high-impact sport like rugby.
One of the rugby players, Christopher Oerson, said he'd always wondered why players from schools like Kingswood always wore gum guards during matches.
"Now I know it's for protection," Christopher said.
He added that his parents couldn't afford to buy a guard so he was very happy to have one now. "If you don't have a gum guard in rugby your teeth can be broken."
Nurse Debra Sias gave a talk about the importance of brushing your teeth during the three-days they spent at the school.
She warned pupils not to brush their teeth too hard otherwise their gums will bleed and handed out toothbrushes to the foundation phase children.
Lucien Bartis, of Grahamstown Primary, said the Dental Clinic was doing wonderful work to prevent sports injuries by giving out protection in advance.
"If you can prevent an injury your body can be healthy," said Local dentist Dr Olenka Brutsch, explaining the motivation for supplying local schools' first rugby and soccer teams with free guards.
She thanked supporters of the initiative like Colgate that supplied the toothbrushes, and Gerhard Heyneke and Riana Heyneke who donated the machine that makes gum guards in 2010.
This project began last year and is ongoing.
