300,000 young Nigerians break World Record with Close Up teeth brushing challenge

A cross section of students participating at the Closeup World Record Teeth Brushing challenge at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos

Over 300,000 young Nigerians gathered at the Teslim Balogun stadium in Lagos, as well as other locations around the state, to participate in the World Record breaking Teeth brushing challenge. The challenge sponsored by leading oral care brand, Close Up toothpaste, in partnership with Lagos State government, Nigerian Dental Association (NDA), HEIT Solutions, Vas2Net & Core Media, saw various school students take part in brushing their teeth at the same time at different locations.

Speaking before the kick-off, Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, said that the challenge was a representation of how people ought to take care of their bodies, with oral care being a priority.

“The Lagos State government supports a comprehensive healthcare system. A simple oral hygiene routine, such as brushing twice daily, restricts the number of visits to the dentist. Unfortunately, many people do not take care of their teeth and mouth because they consider them small among the body parts that should be taken care of. There is little consideration that this part of the body is where all the food that we eat in order to nourish the rest of our body passes through,” Fashola said.

Mr. Mabo Thabe, Managing Director, Unilever Nigeria, makers of Close Up toothpaste and other household brands, who spoke at the event, said that Close Up was supporting the challenge as part of its commitment to promoting and reiterating a healthy oral care culture for Nigerians.

According to him, “At Unilever, our mission is to meet the everyday needs of our consumers through great brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. We have constantly provided quality goods for 90 years in Nigeria, and we are poised to create even more value for our consumers by staying close to them, understanding their needs and meeting those needs through consistent innovation. A healthy and good looking Nigeria is a great Nigeria.”

Project Lead, World breaking Teeth brushing challenge, and Founder, HEIT Solutions, Dr. Lawal Bakare, who also spoke at the event said that the Teeth brushing challenge was spread across communities in Lagos which include Epe, Ikorodu, Agbara, Ikeja and Surulere, with hundreds of volunteers from the Nigerian Dental Association (NDA), Schools, and other agencies, who were present at the different locations across the state to ensure that the counting was properly monitored.

In preparation for the Challenge, over 300 secondary school teachers went through a special Teacher’s Alignment Training Session. The teachers were informed of the World Record standards for counting the number of students brushing in each school, the designed model for the tooth brushing as well as the waste recycling element to the attempt.

Close Up Brand Manager, Mr. Dexter Adeola, thanked Nigerians for their unflinching support towards making the event a huge success. “At the beginning, we urged Nigerians to show their support for this challenge by brushing twice. I have been overwhelmed by the turn out and the number of people who told me that they brushed twice today already and will still do so later. This is one of the reasons Close Up loves Naija. The warmth and love of the people cannot be quantified. Thank you Nigeria! Today, together we have made history!” he concluded.

The Close Up Teeth brushing challenge would be the latest World Record on Teeth brushing, putting Nigeria in the Guinness Book of World Records. India previously held the title where an event brought together 177,003 people to brush their teeth at the same time.