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Medical facility opens dental clinic for OFWs

Most overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) tend to forego dental care till they get to go home in the Philippines on annual leave owing to the “prohibitive cost” of doing so in the UAE,

DUBAI: Noting how most overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) tend to forego dental care till they get to go home in the Philippines on annual leave owing to the “prohibitive cost” of doing so in the UAE, a medical facility in Satwa has opened a dental department for Pinoys to “promote good oral hygiene at reasonable cost.”

“Dental fees is higher in UAE compared to the Philippines, that is why (we) established a dental department for Filipinos promoting good oral hygiene and high quality treatment but with reasonable cost using the latest materials in dentistry,” said Dr. Wilbert Fernandez, who practices his profession at Klinika Maharlika.

Dr. Wilbert Fernandez e1537851674613
Dr. Wilbert Fernandez

He stressed that OFWs should not neglect or delay dental procedures mainly because of the cost but rather avoid making it a bigger problem. “For instance,” he explained, “a small cavity can become a bigger one that may need root canal treatment or extraction if not attended as soon as possible.”

Dr. Marvin Felix, who also holds office at Klinika Maharlika, for his part said that while dental care is relatively less expensive, OFWs should not wait for their annual leave because doing so might only aggravate the problem.

He said OFWs can opt for a routine professional dental check-up, a six-month program for instance which involves cleaning and “recall exam” should be done “so that any bacterial accumulation of plaque and calcular deposit will be taken out, preventing tooth decay and gum disease which are contributory factors to bad breath.”

Dr. Marvin Felix e1537851736108
Dr. Marvin Felix

“In this exam, restorations of teeth and other dental procedures can be done, making prevention better than cure,” Felix said.

Added Fernandez, “OFWs are usually hesitant to go to a doctor because of additional cost they might occur. The only time they go is when they are already in pain. Frequently, their dental problems are already advanced like, teeth requiring root canal treatment or even extraction.

“If the problem is already big, the cost for the treatment also rises up that is why it is very important that every Filipinos should at least go to a dentist every six months for check-up and let the dentist catch the problem while it is not yet big.”

Tooth cleaning generally starts at Dh300, industry standard while extraction could run at up to Dh500. Dentures run into over Dh1,000 depending on the number of teeth, officials said.

Klinika Maharlika map

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