• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
An ordinance establishing the “Barato nga Papustiso” program to provide affordable prosthetic dentures and prosthodontics services in Bacolod City, was approved by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod on first reading Wednesday.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Celia Flor said that according to the 2018 National Survey on Oral Health conducted by the Department of Health (DOH) and WHO, around 78 percent of Filipinos suffer from dental caries and over 90 percent of elderly Filipinos are partially or fully edentulous, highlighting the urgent need for access to oral rehabilitation services.
Improving oral health through the provision of free dentures can restore self-confidence, promote proper nutrition, improve speech, and enhance employability and social participation, contributing to the overall quality of life of marginalized Bacolodnons, it said.
The ordinance will be known as “An Ordinance Establishing The “Barato Nga Papustiso” program to provide affordable prosthetic dentures and prosthodontics services in Bacolod City.
The Dental Division of the Bacolod City Health Office will be the lead agency of the program and will be responsible for conducting initial dental checkups and providing prescriptions for the dental prosthetics, the ordinance said.
Aside from dental check-ups and basic dental services, the Dental Division of the Bacolod City Health Office will provide assistance to Bacolodnons who are suffering from partial or complete loss of natural teeth through fabrication of a dental prosthesis commonly known as “false teeth.” The beneficiary will be the one to purchase and provide the materials which will then be made into dental prosthesis by the City Health Dental Technician. This system ensures the affordability of dental prosthesis to indigent residents of Bacolod. In addition, the program is self-liquidating considering that the fabrication fees can augment the budgetary requirements for the salaries and benefits of the dental laboratory technician, it said.*
