The Nigerian Dental Association, Delta State Chapter has published and launched its first edition of the newsletter titled NDA: DS Newsletter.
The launching which took place at the College of Health Sciences Complex, Delta State University, Abraka on 6th October 2022 was piloted by Dr. Mrs. Mabiaku Yvonne Osaretin, Chairman of the Nigerian Dental Association, Delta State Chapter, and her Secretary, Dr. Mrs. Tivere Emore, said that a committee was put in place for this purpose and was able to come up with the idea of the newsletter because it’s something they have never had.
Speaking further, Dr. Osaretin hinted that they could not completely eradicate the presence of the newsletter because it’s like a report on everything that they would be doing quarterly as an Association, stressing that “This online and hardcopy form of the newsletter is not the ultimate from the committee, however, we choose to engage in this launching because the committee is working assiduously to ensure that the maiden edition is x-rayed to the entire nation and not limited to Delta State alone, because this newsletter will keep the public abreast of the quarterly activities of the Nigerian Dental Association, Delta State Chapter.”
Also speaking was Dr. Mrs. Ese Anibor, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Delta State Dental Association who described the success of the newsletter as a huge dream and a great accomplishment, stressing that the issues present in the maiden edition of the Nigerian Dental Association, Delta State Newsletter is a recap of World Oral Health Day, 2022.
Dr. Anibor stated that the newsletter is a stepping stone, as it divulges the structure of the editorial board of the journal of Delta State Dental Association and the journal will be released in the first quarter of next year hence the call for papers is discussed in the newsletter.
Amongst those launching the newsletter was, The Head of the College of Health Sciences, who doubles as the out-going Provost, Prof. Lawrence Omo-Aghoja, a professor in sketches and gynecology, who said that when something regarding associations is not documented nobody will know about it, stressing that “Documentation is a very important means of evaluating the performance of an organization, governmental and non-governmental agencies as the case may be, but most times they don’t do so and later you find out that when you bid for any support in terms of grants, or collaborations with other bodies they will ask to see evidence of what you are doing, which encapsulates evidence of your annual reports, newsletters, journals, which are important means of documenting people’s research work and findings as well as disseminating knowledge.”
He further advised and recommended to the editor that when documenting a newsletter, reports, and publications, it’s cool to review most of these reports and documentation to see if they meet up with the international best practices in documentation, adding that “although the review might not be too relevant to the newsletter because the newsletter is like ongoing reportage of activities, but for journals it is important.
Moving forward, Prof. P.S. Igbigbi, Professor of Anatomy Delta State University Abraka, commended the team for the initiative, stating that if they are coming out with this newsletter which will later metamorphose into a journal, it is something worthy of emulation.
He said that the newsletter is very beautiful and of nice quality, thereby encouraging them to keep it up. He also advised them to sustain the production and encourage people to subscribe to it while stressing that they should improve on the articles in their next edition since it’s been done quarterly, as the newsletter will affect the institute positively because every institution grows by publication.
“This is an academic institution and normally we grow by publication and research. If you do your research and have nowhere to publish it, you gain nothing but once you do research you will always want people to know about it. That is why it is very important in a university setting that research and publications are key to our progress,” he added.
Prof. Dennis Erhisenebe O. Eboh; Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, said the idea is very plausible and encouraging. Saying people should learn from it and members should be encouraged to participate because bringing any new ideas is not easy.
He said once the ideas are there and sold to members is always an interesting and encouraging thing even to the leadership. It shows that members of the association are showing interest because if you don’t encourage the leadership of any association, it drives that association to a halt.
“I will say clearly that I appreciate what they are doing and I will always try my utmost best to support the association as my appreciation to enable them to bring it to the limelight for more recognition and respect like others. There is a need for journals to be online because when they are online, they have more subscriptions. The ideas are more visible to the outside world and they promote the organization or body better than it is localized. The Dental profession is an institution and the newsletter will promote the institution because from time to time, periodically we will make publications that will have an impact both on the profession and the medical profession in general.
Speaking also, Prof. Peter C Aloamaka stated that anything big and mighty starts in a day and this has come to stay. Stressing that he will always encourage them to sustain it because anything about oral structure is very important. Its function is the major entry to our body.
Prof. Aloamaka explained that “A man whose mouth is paralyzed for example is finished unless you can correct it. A man who has major infectious cancer in the mouth is also finished. How long will you continue giving drips, and how long will you continue feeding through the nose, is not possible? This is a very important area and the newsletter will help in creating awareness. The Information will no doubt provide sufficient awareness to society as to the importance of oral studies.
“I will also encourage them to do everything possible for this university to have a center or a unit for studying matters that have to do with the mouth.”
Describing the initiative, Dr. J.I Wilson said the newsletter is a good start as far as the Nigerian Dental Association is concerned. The initiative is for enlightenment as many people will be aware of what is going on.
He also said that the awareness will create a connection between the people and the Dental surgeon. According to him, people will be more serious about the issue of their health and thereby encourage the newsletter to go around
Dr. Anthony T. Eduviere commended the committee for the newsletter but said this is the first time he is coming across the initiative in the South-South region. In the South West, they have a certified Oral Health Specialist Association.
While commending the Chairman and the Secretary for the initiative, he said the newsletter will showcase information about what NDA is doing and also it will create more awareness and a means of publicity, adding that the initiative will also help drive the commencement of the Dental Central School in the institution.
