Taiwan - Western diet?
Poor oral hygiene is a serious problem among Taiwan elementary school students, with around 60 percent of them reporting having cavities in a recent survey, a Taipei city councilwoman said yesterday.
Councilwoman Lee Yen-hsiu of the opposition Kuomintang cited the results of a survey on 300 students at six Taipei elementary schools as indicating that 61 percent of the students have cavities, with nearly 30 percent of these students having at least three cavities and 12 percent having at least five cavities.
Lee pointed out that most parents, schools and children in Taiwan have not attached importance to dental care, leading to a high ratio of tooth decay among schoolchildren -- a ratio she claimed as the second highest in Asia, behind only that of the Philippines.
The ratio of Taiwan schoolchildren with cavities is three times that of schoolchildren in Hong Kong and Singapore, Lee added.
She noted that more than 40 percent of Taiwan parents will only take their children to see a dentist when they complain about toothache and that children have not formed the good habit of brushing their teeth regularly.
Taipei Dental Association President Chen Shih-yueh said that the national health insurance system currently only covers fluoride coating for children under the age of five, adding that coverage should be extended to children aged nine and below considering the teeth falling out process of children.
The Education Department of the Taipei City government said that to deal with the problem of cavities, it has appropriated NT$1.39 million (US$42,120) annually to cover the costs of dental examinations. The department has also arranged for dentists to visit schools regularly to provide dental care to students.
Councilwoman Lee Yen-hsiu of the opposition Kuomintang cited the results of a survey on 300 students at six Taipei elementary schools as indicating that 61 percent of the students have cavities, with nearly 30 percent of these students having at least three cavities and 12 percent having at least five cavities.
Lee pointed out that most parents, schools and children in Taiwan have not attached importance to dental care, leading to a high ratio of tooth decay among schoolchildren -- a ratio she claimed as the second highest in Asia, behind only that of the Philippines.
The ratio of Taiwan schoolchildren with cavities is three times that of schoolchildren in Hong Kong and Singapore, Lee added.
She noted that more than 40 percent of Taiwan parents will only take their children to see a dentist when they complain about toothache and that children have not formed the good habit of brushing their teeth regularly.
Taipei Dental Association President Chen Shih-yueh said that the national health insurance system currently only covers fluoride coating for children under the age of five, adding that coverage should be extended to children aged nine and below considering the teeth falling out process of children.
The Education Department of the Taipei City government said that to deal with the problem of cavities, it has appropriated NT$1.39 million (US$42,120) annually to cover the costs of dental examinations. The department has also arranged for dentists to visit schools regularly to provide dental care to students.
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