(Dr. Joseph D. Lim Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim)
IF YOU are an Overseas Filipino Worker based in Qatar, consider yourself lucky.
Qatar is ranked No. 1 with the best oral health care among more than 178 countries.
The Middle East country has a teeth-conscious score of 80.8, according to a study, conducted by British mail order dental supplier, Kent Express.
There are more than 260,000 Filipinos in Qatar, a peninsular country near Bahrain. Many of them work as engineers, domestic helpers and health, the fourth-largest group of foreign workers in 2017 after Indians, Nepalis and Bangladeshis.
After the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Qatar is the third-largest destination of OFWs in the Middle East and the fourth-largest OFW destination in the world.
Oman is the second country with the highest teeth-conscious score, according to the Kent Express survey.
Oman has three dentists per 10,000 people; Qatar has six dentists per 10,000. The difference is explained by the fact that Oman has 5.1 million people while Qatar has half that – a 2.8 million population.
Qatar has an annual sugar consumption of 2.4 kilograms per capita, or 607 teaspoons. This means a daily sugar consumption of 0.006 grams a day, way below the average 25 grams recommended by the World Health Organization.
Americans consume more sugar than any other country in the world: on average, 126.4 grams of sugar daily.
Oman has a per capita annual sugar consumption of nine kilos or 2,252 teaspoons, the timesofoman.com reports.
About 14 percent of adults in Qatar use tobacco. About 9.6 percent of adults in Oman are tobacco users.
Sugar and tobacco have been linked to issues in oral health such as cavities and gum disease.
Qatar finished at the top of the table because of lowest sugar consumption rates in the world, a low proportion of people smoking and a large number of dentists at the community’s disposal.
Japan is among those countries with most number of dentists available, at more than eight dentists per 10,000 people. Norway, Luxembourg, Germany and Jordan also have a good number of dentists available to the population.
The Japanese also visit their dentists most often, more than three times a year, according to the Kent Express report. Those in The Netherlands, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Korea also have good dental habits.
In contrast, people in Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile and Colombia go to their dentists less than once a year.
The United Kingdom ranks 68th on the Kent Express index. It has an overall teeth conscious score of 54.3 with 5.3 dentists per 10,000 people and an annual sugar consumption of up to 22.1 kg per capita.
The UK is ahead seven places of the United States which leads the world in per capita consumption of sugar. Americans, on average, consume almost 33 kg of sugar each year.
Guatemala, in Central America, is ranked the least teeth-conscious country, consuming 436kg of sugar per person per year, which is equivalent to almost half a million teaspoons. The country scores a mere 12.6 on the Kent Express report (for comparison, remember that Qatar’s score is 80.8).
The Philippines is not listed on the Kent Express list of the Top 20 teeth-conscious countries.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim, Ed. D., is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology; and Founding Chairman of the Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines, College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate Professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; Member, American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Fellow, Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com./PN
