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Official reports and statis-tics are not needed to
tell us that the state of oral health care in the Philippines is
appalling. We just have to take a look around and we will see the
toothless smiles and uneven, black remains of milk teeth. Yet, the
official statistics can still be shocking.
97.1 percent of 6-year old
Filipino children suffer from dental decay. An estimated 77 percent
of the population have never been to a dentist. Tooth decay ranks
first and outranges the combined rates of other diseases in the
country. These are some of the findings of the 2006 National Oral
Health Survey discussed by Dr. Bella Monse and Dr. Susan
Yanga-Mabunga in a research paper.
The fact that almost all
six-year-old kids suffer from some degree of tooth decay tells us
that intervention should come before the child enters school. Other
findings of the 2006 National Oral Health Survey unfortunately
reveal just how poor hygiene is at home. One third of the children
examined had lice in their hair and about 50 percent had “long and
dirty fingernails which is usually associated with intestinal
parasites,” Monse and Mabunga report. 15 percent of the examined
children suffered from skin diseases.
“Crowded living conditions in
the families, overcrowded classrooms, lack of water, lack of
sanitation facilities at home as well as in the schools, lack of
awareness concerning the importance of hygiene and unhealthy and
insufficient food are the root causes [of poor oral health],” Dr.
Monse writes in a paper on basic hygiene. The WHO adds that
“[lack] of traditions, beliefs and culture in support of oral
health” are contributing factors.
The Philippines of course has no
monopoly on poor oral health. It is a global problem affecting
millions of people especially the poor and uneducated. Good oral
health is associated with nutritious food and adequate dental care,
and these are often beyond the reach of the poor. Ignorance, too, is
a major factor. The Philippines is one of the world’s biggest
consumers of soft drinks. The consumption of sugary soft drinks
“is a major risk factor in dental caries,” the World Health
Organization warns.
Tooth extraction is the most
common solution to tooth ache—but teeth, if well taken care of,
can last a lifetime.
Having healthy teeth is not just
about looking good but feeling good. In fact, infections stemming
from problems with one’s teeth reportedly increase the risk of
hypertension. Tooth decay is painful and unpleasant, and it keeps
school children away from school or makes them unable to concentrate
on their studies. With only one dentist per 18,000 school children
and an annual budget for school health per child at about 2 pesos,
obviously the schools alone cannot be expected to dramatically
improve the state of oral health.
Fortunately, there are some
private initiatives.
One is the Tooth Brushing Program
of Cebu-based Channel of Hope. The volunteer dentists not only
conduct dental missions with thousands of patients, they visit
schools and educate the children, their parents, the teachers and
school principals on the “hows” and “whys” of good oral
health care. A health care package is being provided to each child
at 25 pesos per child. This package, which is sponsored by companies
and civic clubs, contains sufficient toothpaste for an entire year,
a toothbrush, a soap, and two tablets for deworming.
Channel of Hope is run by a
Scandinavian missionary couple, but the poor state of teeth among
Filipinos convinced Elisabet and Flemming Hansen to focus on dental
care rather than on missionary work. Every year volunteer dentists
come all the way from Denmark to conduct dental missions and
education activities. Puppet shows with stories about teeth and
tooth brushing are used to catch the interest of the kids.
Oral care obviously isn’t a
priority of parents. So children are seldom given the opportunity to
live a life with healthy teeth. It would seem that the lack of
priority given by people in general is reflected in the low priority
afforded oral care by local, national and international health
authorities. Tooth decay is, unlike for instance dengue, malaria,
HIV-AIDS and cancer, not life-threatening. But good oral health is
important for our general well-being and health. And it doesn’t
have to be expensive, as Channel of Hope’s Tooth Brushing Program
shows.
opinion@manilatimes.net
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