Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Dentists ‘can’t attend to’ all students in region
By Elisabethe P. Baumgart
Sun.Star Correspondent
WITH about 1.3 million children enrolled in the region’s public schools this year, dentists employed by the Department of Education (DepEd) will have their hands full.
DepEd 7 is worried not all children will be attended to because there are only 55 dentists left in the region,.
But the problem is not new. DepEd 7 supervising dentist Dr. Berna Ysulan said it is impossible to achieve 100 percent coverage.
Last school year, about 1.2 million schoolchildren were enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools in Region 7.
“We all want 100 percent coverage, but that is just too difficult to achieve,” Ysulan told Sun.Star Cebu.
Based on last school year’s reports, the average dentist-to-student ratio in Central Visayas was 1:16,606.
Last year, the Cebu Schools Division had the highest number of employed dentists at 17. However, the dentist-to-student ratio was at a staggering 1:18,972.
“So one dentist, maybe, covers five municipalities in a district,” Ysulan said.
With only one dentist in the district, Mandaue City had the highest dentist-to-student ratio at 1:37,368.
What was even more alarming was the fact that the divisions of Toledo City, Danao City, Bais City, Bayawan City and Tanjay City had no dentists.
Ysulan said the World Health Organization recommended the ideal dentist-to-student ratio as 1:5,000. But because of the
shortage of dental doctors in the region, this ratio cannot be met.
Ysulan said it is also usually the secondary students who end up being neglected by dentists because the focus is on
elementary students, specially grade one pupils.
“We are really putting focus on the grade one students because that is where dental cavities are prevalent,” said Ysulan.
Based on the 2006 national dental health survey, 97 percent of grade one children have dental cavities.
Lowest
The survey also showed that Central Visayas had the lowest percentage of dental cavity cases in the region.
Central Visayas ranked lowest at 89.9 percent.
“I was really happy to hear that we ranked lowest, but once I found out that the percentage was 89.9, I was shocked. That is still too high!” Ysulan said.
Ysulan said that since it is impossible to check the entire student population, dentists now try to target 80 to 60 percent coverage.
“We target 80 percent of the grade one students… since they are new. From grades one to six, the dentist will target 60 percent per level. Out of the total number of students examined, dentists target 50 percent,” said Ysulan.
The same problems arise with the lack of district medical doctors and nurses.
Originally, there were nine division doctors in the region. One, however, retired recently, said Ysulan.
In Central Visayas, the doctor-to-student ratio is 1:107,014.
The only divisions that have two doctors are Cebu Province and Bohol. The divisions of Danao City, Talisay City,
Tagbiliaran City, Siquijor, Dumaguete City, Bais City, Bayawan City and Tanjay City are without doctors.
Despite having two division doctors, Cebu province still had the highest doctor-to-student ratio at 1:161.262.
The region also had 99 nurses employed. But over the years, four nurses left for employment abroad.
The ratio between nurses to students in central Visayas is 1:9728.
In the divisions of Talisay City, Bais City, Bayawan City and Tanjay City there are no nurses for the schools. Cebu Province had the highest number of nurses at 27.
Ysulan said doctors have targeted 80 percent examination coverage in their divisions, but only 65 percent is usually covered.
Doctors can cover an average of only two sections in a day, while nurses can cover about four sections in a day, said Ysulan.
Despite all efforts, the number is still not enough.
“We are really lacking in manpower,” Ysulan said.
While the need for more medical personnel is still high, there is not much that DepEd 7 can do until the Central Office allocates an additional budget for medical personnel.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 10, 2008 issue)
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