Improving the Pinoys’ trademark smile

MANILA, Philippines - With a score of 90 points in the Happiness Index, Filipinos are ranked the third happiest people in Asia in 2013 by the Eden Strategy Institute.

Eden said one of the Filipino’s secrets to happiness is their habit of smiling at hardships, and just smiling. Period.

Unfortunately, the Pinoy’s smile — his state of dental health — is least prioritized. Many Pinoys thus sport toothless smiles.

The Pinoy’s state of dental health is further challenged by his frequent eating habits: three meals and two snacks, and a fondness for sweets and carbohydrates, which have caries-promoting properties.

Dr. David M. Roessler, prosthodontist in Sydney, Australia and speaker at the recent 104th Philippine Dental Association at SMX Convention, said, “When you put something in your mouth, whether food or drink, you increase the activity of the bacteria to make teeth decay because you are giving them field to work.  It takes your saliva a couple of hours or more to neutralize everything, but if you have a meal every couple of hours, then, it never gets neutralized. It means you up your chances of getting tooth decay.”

The best dental health practice is to have regular dental check-ups. But again, this is one of the most neglected health habits. Dr. Kara Achacoso, 3M ESPE’s professional service analyst, said the only time most Pinoys visit the dentist is when they have a toothache.

Dentists must encourage their patients to have regular dental check-ups and educate them about proper dental hygiene, the two doctors recommended. Thankfully, new dental technology and amazing new products now exist, said Dr. David Roessler. Dentists should do well to update themselves likewise on new products and trends in dental care.

Dr. Roessler noted that 3M ESPE Dental Professionals has been committed to providing good oral health care for Filipinos through preventive products against tooth decay such as tooth creams that serve both as toothpaste and tooth decay preventive. 3M ESPE also has premium dental materials created by dental nanofiller technology — like dental restoratives made out of nanohybrid which gives more resistant and better esthetic restoration. This makes teeth look more natural than ever and as hardy as natural teeth, made possible by 3M ESPE’s patented formula of nanotechnology.