Materia Medica Malaysiana

Malaysians neglect their teeth

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians generally neglect their teeth until it is too late.
This carelessness prevails although good dental care is widely available, said Malaysian Dental Association (MDA) president Dr Teo Choo Kum.
He regretted that Malaysians did not take preventive action to avoid cavities and gum diseases.
According to Dr Teo, Malaysians between 35 and 44 years old have the worst teeth, with more than 90% suffering from tooth decay, as they neglect dental health due to their hectic lifestyle.
“These people are busy with work and do not spend time on dental check-ups. Time and financial constraints, as well as fear of pain, are also some of the factors Malaysians hardly visit dental clinics,” he said.
Dr Teo said although the DMFT (decayed, missing and filled teeth) index showed that Malaysia is ranked fourth after Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, Malaysians should not ignore their dental health.
He said that three-quarters of 16-year-olds in Malaysia have tooth decay. It was worse among 12-year-old schoolchildren with more than 80% affected.
However, dental health in Malaysia has improved slowly in the last three decades due to increasing awareness and easy access to dental clinics.
Dr Teo was speaking at a conference yesterday while briefing the media on a large-scale free dental check-up programme to be launched at 1 Utama Shopping Complex on April 1 here.