The Pasig-Pateros-Taguig Dental Chapter (PPTC) of Philippine Dental Association (PDA) has revisited their adopted community after a yearlong lockdown.
Established in 1985, PPTC is comprised of dentists practising from three different cities in Metro Manila, Philippines (Pasig, Pateros, Taguig).
For 11 years, the chapter has been supporting the dental health needs of Ilugin Community in Pasig City through various activities such as dental education, pits and fissures sealant application, fluoride therapy, and delivering atraumatic restorative treatment (ART).
It is PPTC’s mission to spread oral health awareness amongst the marginalised community and emphasise its importance to overall wellbeing.
Preventive dental care among children is also one of PPTC’s prime objectives as it is the first line of defence against common dental problems such as early childhood caries and gum disease.
Due to the current pandemic restrictions, the long-established activities were temporarily put on hold. In turn, PPTC adapted a safer and more sustainable approach through HISO (Hatid Impormasyon: Suliraning Oral) programme.
Following the dental health campaign of PDA this year 2021, the HISO programme aims to promote oral health and encourage the community to practice good oral habits even in this unprecedented time.
On 18 February 2021, the chapter invited a limited number of participants from the Ilugin community to join the oral health lectures which tackled proper tooth brushing techniques as well as healthy diet and nutrition.
Additionally, measures to reduce the risk of developing dental caries and prevent its progression in the early stages were also discussed. Concluding the event, oral hygiene kits were distributed among the participants.
PPTC also extended their service by giving out free toothbrushes and oral health guidelines to the indigent community living around the area.