Sarangani school celebrates first dental health month

MAITUM, Sarangani - For the first time, pupils, parents, teachers, dentists, nurses, and
barangay officials gathered together at Sison Elementary School in Maitum,
Sarangani, to celebrate the 13th National Dental Health Month (NDHM).

Countless schoolchildren from
Kinder to Grade 6 who attended the celebration participated in tooth brushing
drills and dental check-up while others availed of free tooth extraction
services provided by dentists from the Philippine Dental Association (PDA) based in the province.

sand//scontent.fceb2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t34.0-12/16790724_10210761313742677_392039533_n.jpg?oh=c59c9e41274838b88ec7229db18926feandampoe=58A96B92 Pupils of Sison Elementary School brush teeth as part of the activities during the 13th National
Dental Health Month (NDHM) celebration. During the event, Sarangani
Provincial Dentist Dr. Laudencio Mendoza urged teachers and school heads to
continue promoting dental health among pupils, adding that
dental problems impact children’s learning in school.

Children often skip school
because of dental issues like toothaches and because of that, they miss
learning opportunities. If they learn how to take care of their teeth, there
will be lesser chances of them missing school, Mendoza said.

sand//scontent.fceb2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t34.0-12/16808395_10210761313782678_1295148159_n.jpg?oh=88eb245595f668b0f54f695092a174d2andampoe=58A84FC8 A dentist performs oral screening on a pupil
from Sison Elementary School. According to local health practitioners, dental
care has been a major health issue among schoolchildren. The celebration did not only benefit the pupils but also the parents
who attended the activity. School nurses from the province, including Estylinda
Tudayang, held Parent Education Session (PES) regarding oral health for
children. Our records show that
dental care remains to be on top of the list of most common ailments among
school children. That is why we also have to educate the parents on oral health. After all, they have a big role in ensuring
that their children brush their teeth when they are at home, Tudayang said.

Meanwhile, Sison Elementary
School, with the help of a child-oriented Non-Government Organization (NGO),
has been implementing programs in order to address health and nutritional
issues in the school, including promoting proper hand washing, maintaining
vegetable garden, and implementing the No Junk Food policy in the canteen.

According to Clinic Teacher Liza
dela Cuadra, all these programs collectively aim to lessen the health-related
problems that pupils experience and to improve their learning quality in
general.

We are very thankful to our partner,
Save the Children, because they have been helping us implement our programs.
They helped us fix our water system in school, they provided us with a hand
washing facility, and they support us in our school activities like this
[NDHM], dela Cuadra said. We are very lucky, especially the
pupils, for opportunities like these where we can avail of dental services for
free, she also said. I would like to thank all those who helped us celebrate the National
Dental Health Month, the PDA, the nurses, the barangay officials, the parents,
and Save the Children, dela Cuadra added.

This year’s celebration was themed Ngiping Inaalagaan at Pinagyaman, Hatid ay Ngiting di Kukupas
Kailanman.