GIVEN a chance to get re-elected in the next Congress, party-list lawmakers will file again a bill deploying dentists to every health center in the country.
Buhay Party-List Reps. Mariano Michael Velarde, Jr. and Irwin Tieng want to address the dental health problems of people in the rural areas where a great majority of impoverished Filipinos live.
“Addressing the dental health problems of our countrymen most especially in the rural areas, not only has beneficial social implications, but economic benefits as well,” Tieng said.
“The ubiquitous effects of dental health problems can be translated to economic terms that every tooth affected means days loss of productivity, lost opportunities, recurring pain and sever discomfort as well as increased cost of dental treatments,” Tieng added.
Velarde cited the report of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) stating that half of the Philippines’ 88 million people live in rural areas.
“Poverty is most severe and most widespread in these areas and almost 80 percent of the country’s poor people live there,” Velarde said.
“Also, a study in the US National Library of medicine found that older people in the rural areas still adhere to their beliefs and traditions to alleviate the pains of toothache, particularly in the areas that cannot be reached by dentists,” Velarde said.
Velarde revealed that the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) also reported that most 5-year olds or 85 percent of the children in the rural areas of the country had untreated caries or tooth decay in primary teeth.
“Because of the widespread poverty in the rural areas, 12 year old children also had a high caries experience, The IADR also observed that most of these children or 90 percent of them had gingivitis,” Velarde, Jr. added.
Under the bill, the DOH shall issue rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the measure.
The amount necessary for the effective implementation of the measure shall be funded out of the appropriations of the DOH under Republic Act 6642. For continuity, the amount necessary shall be included in the annual General Appropriation Act.