Government to launch fluoridation program
JAKARTA (JP): The government will launch a national campaign to fluoridate drinking water next week to help combat dental problems.
Minister of Health Sujudi told journalists yesterday that the massive drive was part of an awareness campaign on dental and oral hygiene which would be adopted as the main theme of the Nov. 12 National Health Day.
He hoped that the fluoridation would help reduce the currently high number of dental problems throughout the country.
Sujudi pointed out that two million Indonesians complained of dental problems each month.
He said the number of cases of periodontal disease -- any disease affecting the supporting structures of teeth -- was very high, affecting 86 percent of the whole population.
The process would be conducted in phases with areas lacking in clean drinking water such as Kalimantan taking priority because rain and murky water is a source for dental disease.
The first area to receive fluoridation treatment will be Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan on Nov. 12.
Sujudi said that the fluoridation operation was supported by international health institutions, including the World Health Organization.
Ministry of Health regulation No. 416/1990 stipulates that the maximum concentration of fluoride in drinking water is 1.5 miligrams/liter.
Sujudi could not say when the program would be fully implemented or if the program would cover all of Indonesia.
He also would not reveal the cost of the campaign but said that it would come from the state budget.
Despite government efforts, Sujudi stressed that public awareness toward dental and oral health was still low.
People generally have not understood how and when to brush their teeth, Sujudi said adding that despite painful toothaches the number of those who sought dental treatment was far too few.
"The number of fillings conducted is low -- just six percent of teeth that have cavities in them," Sujudi claimed.
In conjunction with National Health Day, Sujudi said he would also launch an immunization drive which would be aimed at immunizing 12.8 million first to third grade elementary students.
These students would be given free diphtheria and tetanus shots.
AIDS
Separately, nine more people were reported to be infected with the deadly HIV/AIDS virus yesterday increasing the official number of carriers in Indonesia to 599.
The health ministry's director general for contagious disease control and environmental sanitation, Dr. Hadi M. Abednego, said eight of them had full-blown AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) while one was diagnosed with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).
Abednego said the latest report showed that the increase of reported cases in October was recorded in three provinces -- four in Jakarta, four in Irian Jaya and one in Central Java.
He said that all nine were infected through unprotected sexual contact.
The official number of carriers of the deadly virus in Indonesia remains quite small, but independent observers have claimed that the true number may be several times higher.
Of the 599 recorded cases, Jakarta has the largest number with 179 cases followed by Irian Jaya with 152.
At least 171 of the total cases are known to be foreigners. (09)