She’s doing something she never thought she’d be doing in a million years time- being a Dental Nurse. She tells ada igboanugo how the journey started and how it’s been so far...
“Aunty, how many times do I need to brush my teeth in a day?” that was one of the numerous question that was asked by primary five students of SOS Village School during a one of the dental health awareness programme organised by Omotanwa Sulaiman, a freelance Dental Nurse, in which she answered, “Twice a day, morning and night, and not more than two minutes per time”.
Omotanwa, fondly known to her friends as Tammie, a graduate of Business Administration & Management from the University of Ilorin Kwara State, “Served in Asaba Delta State for my Youth service and totally enjoyed my time there because they were nice to me...I almost stayed behind but I didn’t find a job there at the time” started her journey at Ifako international nursery and primary school and finished her secondary education at the Federal Government Girls College, Bida, Niger state. After her university education she went ahead to work at Silverbird television as Client Service at the Beauty Pageants Unit, Miss Commonwealth beauty pageant as a Client Service Exec and doubled as a chaperon for the queen then and being the extrovert she is, she also does voice over radio and television adverts for brands and companies.
You would be wondering what someone with such curriculum vitae will be looking for in the field of science that she’s in now. Well, once upon a time, visas were once given to youths who’d like to go abroad to explore, work or further their studies. Tanwa took advantage of this opportunity when she felt she needed to take her education to another level by going for her MBA. But she changed her mind along the way, “I just didn’t feel like doing it anymore. changed my mind along the way, cost initially got in the way, I later lost total interest...been in and out of the UK since then, did other jobs in Nigeria before I went again to the UK with a Working Holiday Visa which afforded me the opportunity to study and work for my Dental Nursing programme”.
As a kid tanwa had had several tooth problem while growing up and after taking out the second one later in life, she decided enough was enough and sought to find solution to the problem and that birthed The era of dental nursing, “Got into the dental profession out of curiosity about dental health issues, haven taken out a couple of teeth early on in my childhood, and I thought gaining the experience will help me help myself and other people....though I returned home to work with a leading HR firm...before I finally ventured out on my own” she said.
A social entrepreneur with Cares Unend Limited which is geared towards a triple bottom line of social, environmental and economic sustainability, tanwa runs her own dental magazine titled, ‘Erin’, “We publish the free to all èrín magazine, (èrín means smile in Yoruba Language) our magazine anchored on dental health though, touches lifestyle issues too and will soon touch other health issues. We have a lot of support from the likes of The Jalo Waziris kids, Frank Edoho, Joke Silva and many other people who are happy to support the cause”. She said, “The aim is to create awareness on the importance of dental health to their general well being and help people make informed decisions as to their teeth. We have received a lot of support and encouragement from the Lagos State Chapter of the National Dental Association who are doing a great job also at educating people about the importance of dental Health”, she added.
Erin has carried out dental health awareness education in schools, Lagos NYSC, Offices, “We deliver some of our awareness free for those who can’t afford it but allow sponsors to use this avenue to showcase their products and services while being socially responsible”. And the going, “It has been hard especially with publishing Erin, since it is free and we depend on adverts to go to print, though some advertisers are now realising that since its free, the pass on rate is higher and they get more visibility and our distribution network is widening....we decided to make Erin free because of our social entrepreneurial existence, we are passionate about creating dental awareness in Nigeria since eating is important to our existence, the loss of the function of the teeth comprises our diet which is detrimental to our being...hence the importance”.
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