The Seventh-day Adventist Church partnered with various government agencies to hold a pioneering event for the Oral Health Caravan, a dental mission that promoted dental health and hygiene. The event took place at Florence Kern Auditorium, in Mountain View College during the 2024 Division-Wide Congress.
Specifically, these agencies were the following: the office of Senator Imee Marcos, the Department of Health, the Philippine Dental Association of Bukidnon, the City Health of Valencia, and the Provincial Health of Bukidnon. This initiative highlights the dedication of the church to enhance the health and well-being of every member by addressing the dental health needs of the delegates who attended the congress.
Attendees received free dental health services such as free consultation and free oral cleaning. Over 1700 individuals received an Oral Health Family package consisting of 3 adult toothbrushes, 3 children’s toothbrushes, 1 foam-style fluoride toothpaste for children, 1 tube of fluoride toothpaste for adults, which is good for one year, and 2 germicidal soaps. An oral health education also happened, featuring a demonstration of proper brushing and flossing techniques and the effects of diet on oral health.
The misconception of dental mission is tooth extraction. However, they don’t provide enough instruments used in dental mission outreaches and no proper sterilization of tools, which is very high risk for HIV, TB, and leprosy. As a result, the Department of Health’s new goal for oral health care, which will be implemented across the country, is to have Twenty Healthy Teeth by the age of 70.
“We are trying to implement more education and consultation so that they will take care of their teeth by themselves and know how to do it themselves,” said Dr. Kris Edward Sta Ana, the Oral Health Program Coordinator of Region X.
“I feel blessed to be one of the recipients of this oral health kit since this is a very rare event for us to receive this for free,” said Mrs. Meraluna Tubo, one of the attendees.
