Every year, 1st August is observed as Oral Hygiene Day in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr G B Shankwalkar, the Doyen of Indian Periodontology and the founder of the Indian Society of Periodontology. The day aims at spreading awareness about the importance of maintaining oral hygiene and the ways to prevent several dental as well as systemic diseases. This year we geared up to celebrate the “National Oral Hygiene Day Celebration Month” from 15^thJuly to 15^th August 2022. We looked forward to raise awareness and enlighten minds regarding the importance of Oral Hygiene through various events and competitions.

1. OHD WEBINAR SERIES

A two weeks extending Webinar Series was conducted as a part of Oral Hygiene Day celebration from 15^th July to 30^th July. Eight webinars were organised which encompassed the most proficient speakers from different corners of India. The webinars targeted the post graduate students, faculty members, clinical practitioners and the research workers and were live broadcasted via social media platform Youtube so that it could benefit a large number of the viewers. The webinars are uploaded on the Youtube channel of Department of Periodontics and Implantology, VSPM Dental College and Research Centre Nagpur so that the recorded version can be easily retrieved and viewed at any time point. All the lectures received an overwhelming response from all parts of the country.

2. CAMPS

Department of Periodontics&Implantology, in association with the Department of Public Health Dentistry, VSPM Dental College and Research Centre, Nagpur arranged Health Checkup Camps at various locations. Lectures were given by- Dr.PrabnoorTuli on “Importance of Oral Hygiene” and by Dr.KamalkishorMankar on “Dental Implants”.
Four Oral Heath CheckupCapms were organized-

a.ZIM Laboratories, Kalmeshwar, Nagpur- 26th July 2022.
Around 115 staff members of the ZIM Laboratories turned up for checkup.

b.Ghuggus, Chandrapur- 30th July 2022
Around 200 persons were checked and attended the health camp.

c.Priyadarshini Pharmacy College, Nagpur- 1st August 2022
Around 71 undergraduate students and staff members attended the lecture.

d.Raisoni Engineering College, Nagpur- 6th August 2022.
Around 82 undergraduate students and staff members attended the checkup camp.

3. BEAUTIFUL SMILE CONTEST

Beautiful Smile Contest was organized that was open to all in the age group of 18-30 years. The contest received an overwhelming response with more than 150 entries from various corners of the country. Cash prizes of Rs. 5000/-, Rs. 3000/- and Rs. 2000/- were given to 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd winners respectively. We concluded our month long Oral Hygiene Day celebration by paying respect and remembering Dr G B Shankwalkar.Dr.AbhayKolte, HOD, Department of Periodontics delivered a speech imparting the importance of oral hygiene to everyone. Along with this, we focussed on spreading awareness and encouraging common people to maintain oral hygiene and its importance in overall wellbeing.