Name of Office: FHO, NCDPC
According to the 1998 National Monitoring and Epidemiological Dental Survey (NMEDS), about 92.4% of Filipinos have tooth decay (dental caries) and 78% have gum diseases (periodontal diseases). The dental caries experience of a 12 year old Filipinos in terms of the Average number of Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT is 4.48. This is high compared to the WHO standards of 3 DMFT and below for 212 year old individual.
The 2006 National Oral Health Survey (NOHS) revealed that 97.1% of six-year-old children suffer from tooth decay. More than four out of every five children of this subgroup manifested symptoms of dentinogenic infection. In addition, 78.4% of twelve-year-old children suffer from dental caries and 49.7% of the same age group manifested symptoms of dentinogenic infections. The severity of dental caries, expressed as the average number of decayed teeth indicated for filling/extraction or filled permanent teeth (DMFT) or temporary teeth (dmft), was 8.4 dmft for the six-year-old age group and 2.9 DMFT for the twelve-year-old age group (NOHS 2006).
Filipinos bear the burden of gum diseases early in their childhood. According to NOHS, 74% of twelve-year-old children suffer from gingivitis (NOHS 2006). If not treated early, these children become susceptible to irreversible periodontal disease as they enter adolescence and approach adulthood.