On HKGN commemoration today, we reflect to raise our collective awareness on the importance of dental and oral healthJakarta (ANTARA) - The National Dental and Oral Health Day (HKGN), which is commemorated every September 12, can be used as a momentum to raise awareness in the community about the importance of maintaining dental and oral health.
"On HKGN commemoration today, we reflect to raise our collective awareness on the importance of dental and oral health," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said at a virtual event held to mark HKGN on Monday.
It is hoped that in the future, people will be aware of the importance of dental and oral health, he added. Further, they would not be afraid to get their teeth and mouth checked regularly.
Regular efforts must be made from an early age to ensure dental and oral health during older ages, the minister added. He also emphasized that dental and oral health can affect the intake of nutrients.
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"If our teeth and mouth are not healthy, our nutritional intake will also decrease so that our health condition will also decrease," he explained.
He asked people, especially children, to not be afraid to get their teeth and mouth checked regularly by a dentist.
Although dental services nowadays are considered more modern, there are many children who are afraid of visiting dentists and getting treatment, he said.
Further, the number of dentists working in community health centers (puskesmas) is still small and they are only concentrated in districts or big cities. Therefore, there are many adults and children who do not have proper access to dental and oral health services, he noted.
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"I also remind the Indonesian Dental Association (PDGI) to help locate our dentists in health centers in all sub-districts in Indonesia," he said.
Sadikin informed that his ministry will help with the necessary mechanisms related to the distribution of dentists, including incentives and salary mechanisms to the distribution of medical equipment, to help all Indonesians access these services.
“Thus, the dental and oral health of our children can be maintained, as well with their nutritional intake and nutrition, and they can grow into healthy children to become productive human beings, build a better Indonesia, and also build a family that is better than our time,” he added.
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Translator: Rizka Khaerunnisa, Resinta S
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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