The Department of Health has urged the government to invest more in public oral health as the country marks Oral Health Month, noting that over 90 percent of Filipinos suffer from tooth decay due to lack of access to dental services.
The DOH National Monitoring and Epidemiological Dental Survey in 2021 showed that 92.4 percent of Filipinos had tooth decay (dental caries), while 78 percent had gum diseases (periodontal diseases).
However, there is only one dentist for every 53,000 Filipinos, which is far from the ideal ratio of 1 is to 7,500 as recommended by the World Health Organization.
Based on the DOH National Database of Selected Human Resources for Health as of end-2025, only around 2,400 dentists are employed in the public sector.
“It is difficult for the government to attract dentists because their salaries are very low. That is why we are lobbying for a salary increase,” Health Undersecretary Emmie Liza Chong recently said in an interview.
There are several bills pending in the House of Representatives and Senate seeking to raise the monthly entry-level salary for government dentists, which have a Salary Grade (SG) 13 at P36,125 – to SG 17 at P49,562. In comparison, their private counterparts get an estimated 50-60,000 a month.
“There is really a shortage of dental supplies, equipment, and personnel. While health services are devolved and should be the main responsibility of local government units, we make sure that we at the DOH do our part to help,” Chiong said.
“Many people tend to overlook how important the mouth is when in fact, the health of the entire body – from head to toe – depends on it. Even minor oral health issues can have effects on the heart, the eyes, and other parts of the body,” she added.
Oral health is not given as much attention by Filipinos who see care and treatment as either inaccessible because local governments do not offer affordable options, and because it is too expensive if they have to seek a private practitioner. The only way it can be properly addressed is if dentists and treatments are made more available, so visiting one becomes a necessity instead of a luxury. For this to happen, our government must make the choice to invest more in oral health.*
