World Oral Health Day (WOHD) 2026

From: pirilologonji2001@yahoomail.com

To: ...

Subject: Happy 8th World Oral Health Day to you, Mom

Maman, quoi de neuf ? Comment vas-tu ? C’est encore la Journée mondiale de la santé bucco-dentaire.

Hi mom, it's been eight years. How's the soil in France? I hope there's all the wine and good vibes we wished for in Nigeria down there? I know I said that by the next World Oral Health Day, I would be Doctor Piri, but sadly, that's not the case. Sigh. I shouldn't sigh but... Wow. This is the third time you've gone to France. Of all the countries we discussed going to when I become a rich doctor, France has always been your true love.

Anyways, this pursuit of a degree remains its own wild roller-coaster ride. Just yesterday, I went for an outreach. Another one in silent remembrance of you. I broke up with Minnie last week or rather, she broke up with me. Said I was a lost soul who needs jail time and a shrink. Maybe she's not wrong. I'm also terribly burned out. Very, very lost without you. 

World Oral Health Day campaigns have started again. I cried yesterday, Chai. Ah, Chai. I can still remember Dr. Adegbenro's mouth, saying 'severe meningoencephalitis'. I still remember all the dentists trying to look blank when you were convulsing all over that hard hospital bed. I stopped being angry at the doctors. Apparently, I was too slow, you were much too far gone for help. I will always be sorry for killing you. Always. No one gets that I was cranky because WOHD was coming, and that's because it's the day I killed my mother twice. I killed my own mother twice. I still can't not say 'God have mercy' every time I say it. God have mercy on me.

During yesterday's outreach, I saw a lady with the same symptoms as you. She couldn't open her mouth fully, and despite brushing three times a day, she still had bad breath. She had an impacted molar, causing her to bite her gums whenever she tried to close her mouth, pericoronitis. She was with her boyfriend. They referred her for the procedure and her boyfriend was just rubbing her shoulder. I guess she was scared that they had no money, just like us back then. And the boy was telling her that they'll get it done, there'll be no problem, and all that. It made me remember the first outreach they told you there was an issue, and I told you that they were lying, just trying to sell market. Stupid me. Useless best student in his class, shouting 'Mouth problem cannot kill somebody' because we had no money to get help. May God have mercy on my soul.

The statistics for the prevalence of dental disease make for some very scary numbers. I guess it's a boon for humans everywhere that the chances of disease progression to... To where you had to go are really low. It's funny how sometimes, at the dental clinic, a patient whispers to me (because I'm a student, not a scary doctor yet) to ask if there's any problem with not bothering to take out a tooth or get some other treatment or use their meds. And the mocking disbelief on their faces when I say it can kill, nothing riles me up more. Along with antibiotic resistance that will eventually kill everybody, the risk of disease progression to intracranial infection, or something else, they Google it and see some low numbers. Chat GPT always says it's rare. It was a hundred percent for you though. And they will never know. They will never know that every once in a while death enters through the mouth.

I don't even know what to type. My life has been up and down. Daddy disappeared and then that mouth ulcer took you too. And if I had been smart, I could have at least kept you. I don't know what to do these days. I'm just tired and sad. And I can't call you to hear you say I'm an idiot and that I should go and look for wife. I'm so, so sorry, ma.

I have to run again. We have a tutorial. I guess your soul will be touring Brazil next year. I'll write to you again. I really hope being dead is not painful. I hope God has taken the mouth ulcer away. I hope there's enough money so you can brush three times a day with toothpaste instead of salt, after eating Swiss chocolate on Jesus's money. I hope you can buy dental floss and you can do scaling and polishing outside of outreaches. I hope the bad breath has gone. Going by the calendar we have, I won't be a doctor next year. But in two years, hopefully. In 2028, on World Oral Health Day, it will be Dr. Pirilologonji writing to you. 

Avec beaucoup d’amour, de regret, et de tristesse.

Yours Sincerely

Kofeso Piri, OluLagabasky. Oko mummy. 

Wisdom Salami