By Charissa Luci-Atienza The House Committee on Health has approved a bill establishing a National Oral Health Program that seeks to strengthen the delivery of oral health services in the country. Quezon 4th district Rep. Angelina "Helen" Tan, chairman of the panel, disclosed that the proposed Oral Health Act already passed her panel, along with six other pro-health measures. "We approved the Oral Health Act," she said in a Facebook post, noting that the oral disease continues to be a serious health problem in the country. House Bill No. 6276, principally authored by Tan, was approved during the House panel's deliberation on Wednesday, Feb. 26. "This measure seeks to strengthen the delivery of oral health services in the country through the adoption of responsive and efficient policies in oral disease prevention and oral health promotion by scaling up essential programs and increasing investments to make oral health treatment and care more equitable and affordable for all Filipinos," Tan said. Citing the 2016 Global Burden of Disease Study, Tan said half of the world's population are affected with oral diseases. She also noted that the National Monitoring and Evaluation Dental Survey, conducted by the Department of Health (DOH) in 2011 showed that 87 percent of Filipinos or about 83 million suffer from tooth decay. "Statistics further showed that 77 percent or more than 7 out of 10 Filipinos have never ever been to a dentist. It was also found that oral health care among the youth is another concern," Tan said. She said one of the major provisions of HB 6276 is the creation of a National Oral Health program. The program will seek to improve the determinants of oral health, integrate oral health promotion and preventive services with the general health care system, and provide timely access to quality basic oral health care and treatment among others, she said. "It likewise proposes to establish an Oral Health Service under the Department of Health to ensure the promotion and delivery of quality, affordable, accessible, and available oral health care in the country, " Tan said. She said her bill also calls for the creation of an oral health unit in every rural unit throughout the country consistent with the objectives of the primary health care approach in the delivery of health services under the Universal Health Care Act. "Oral health care must be seen as important by the government because oral diseases such as oral cancer, sores, and infections are as deadly as other diseases in the world considering the fact that even a five-year old child can get severe tooth decay that affects his or her performance and wellness at school or play, which is also true with adults. All of these can be prevented if proper information and services are made available and more accessible to those who are not aware of how important oral health is for the well-being of every people," Tan said.