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25th April, 2010
KOTA KINABALU: In Sabah, 70% to 87% of our piped water supply contains fluoride, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin
Hence, there is a need to step up the promotion on oral health through holistic approach by taking into account our lifestyle, she said at the launching of ‘Oral Health Month’ at Palm Square, Centre Point yesterday.
The month of April has been designated for promoting oral health whereby the Malaysian Dental Association (MDA) members from both private and government sectors will provide free dental check-ups nationwide at shopping malls at different dates.
“Even though fluoridation water is effective for preventing cavities, it has its limitation. Statistically, in Sabah, fluoride has been added in water treatment plants in Kota Kinabalu, Beaufort, Labuan and Kota Belud. It will be fruitless if the general public does not look after their health at home,” she said.
Regarding the fissure sealant approach which is slightly effective, she said based on study conducted in Sabah in 2001, a total of 14,201 patients (second highest in Malaysia) or 4.5% of the whole of Malaysia have received this treatment.
“A total of 24,767 teeth (highest in Malaysia) had undergone fissure sealing which made up 21.4% for the whole of Malaysia,” said Rosnah.
In fact, in 2005 the Ministry of Health’s school dental services managed to provide oral examinations to 95.2% (or 2.9 million) of primary school children and 62.7% (or 1.3 million) of secondary school children. However only an estimated 5.8% of adults used the public oral healthcare services in 2005, she said.
The last epidemiological survey of adults in Malaysia in 2000 revealed that only 25.2% of adults (aged 15 years and above) had a dental check-up in the past year while 15.3% had one in the past 1 to 2 years, she said.
In 2009, she said 62.3 % of 12-year-olds and 53% of 16-year-olds in the country had zero cavities and zero restoration on their teeth while less than a third (32.2%) of six-year-olds were free from tooth decay last year.
MDA Eastern Zone (Sabah and Sarawak) Secretary, Dr Roland Chia said since less than 6% of adults are using government oral healthcare services, the private dental practitioners can play a major role in promoting oral health among adults by encouraging regular, preventive dental check-ups and by improving accessibility to oral healthcare.
“They can use leverage on the greater flexibility of private clinics in terms of operating hours, clinic locations and variety of treatment options,” he said.
During the event yesterday, orphans from Pusat Anak-Anak Kota Kinabalu and pupils from SK Sri Gaya, SRJK Chung Hwa, SK Tanjung Aru I and II were invited to participate in the free dental screening courtesy of MDA. Free screening was also given to the public.
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