Saturday, July 21, 2007 High rate of dental defects noted among Negros kids
A GOVERNMENT dentist here blamed school children's preference for sweet foods that cause their tooth decay.
A lifestyle that has strong preference for sweet food, especially soft drinks, is the reason why most public school children in Negros Occidental have a high rate of dental defects said Provincial Schools Division Dentist Dante Demigillo.
Parents too are to be blamed because the children tend to eat what their parents consume at home, he added.
In a Universal Medical - Dental Check Up conducted by the division in 2006, nearly 80 percent of the 34,667 pupils have been found to have dental caries, 65 percent have gingivitis and 56 percent have malocclusion.
Demigillo recommended the control of junk food sold in school canteens to limit the kids consumption of sweets.
He also urged parents to encourage their children practice the proper hygiene taught to them in school.
The education department dental office has so far extracted more than 600,000 teeth to more than 300,000 pupils, he said. (Press release)
