Government to launch fluoridation program
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)