Malaysians do not visit dentists often enough

Star: On average, 50% of Malaysians visit the dentist twice a year, according to the Malaysian Dental Association.
Its president Dr Shubon Sinha Roy said the figure was quoted by Health Ministry officials.
“The frequency of Malaysians visiting dentists is a far cry from developed countries when it comes to their dental care.
“Malaysians take dental care too lightly and only visit when they have problems or when tooth decay has reached an advanced stage,” he said.
Rural residents who make it to the dentist’s chair most often complain about physical or psychological pain, or simply when they need dentures done.
Urban residents who visited their dentists did so for the purpose of regular check-ups and also for health and cosmetic reasons such as fitting braces.
On why schoolchildren focused on their dental health in school and neglected it when they become adults, Dr Shubon said that mobile clinics went to the schools often, hence the dental hygiene of students were monitored more frequently.
“Due to the hectic pace of life of an adult they do not go to the dentist until they are in pain or when they have dental problems," he added.
He said that the association was trying to promote dental tourism.
“Our charges are far cheaper than in the Western countries. Dentistry in Malaysia is on par or even better than standards around the world."
Dr Shubon said that dental care could be taken seriously if companies extended dental coverage to all their employees, similar to medical coverage.