SMILES were everywhere at Karon today as about 500 dentists met to discuss . . . smiles.
But one million students at high schools take days off because of untreated toothache, an expert told Phuketwan. And treatment standards in Thailand still vary, from world-class down.
Delegates from 20 countries are concluding the three-day ninth World Congress on Dentistry at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa at Karon.
On Friday, many delegates will move to the one-day Asian Conference of Oral Health Promotion for School Children.
The world congress is held every two years, and was in Korea last time.
Dr Waraporn Jirapongsa, head of technology development, Dental Health, Ministry of Public Health, said world-class practitioners were present from many countries, including Japan, Britain and China.
Ideas were being exchanged about how to improve dental health.
Thailand teeth will probably benefit the most. Children under 12 have many problems, with about 57 percent needing treatment, she said.
Then there were the one million teenagers among the six million in high schools who suffer toothache and lose days from their education as a result.
She added that since 2002, children from kindergarten on had been told not to include sugar as part of their diet.
Schools have been advised not to sell soft drink or snacks with sugar, Dr Waraporn said.
Children in cities in Thailand generally had better cared for teeth than those in the countryside because treatment was easier to find.
Singapore's teeth were probably better than Thai teeth because the island state was small and quality high.
However in Thailand, because of the size and the spread of the population of almost 70 million people, standards varied.
Thailand remained an excellent destination for visitors to have dentral treatment, she said, because standards of skill and technology were world-class.
And there was plenty of fresh air and fresh food on places such as Phuket to assist recovery.
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But one million students at high schools take days off because of untreated toothache, an expert told Phuketwan. And treatment standards in Thailand still vary, from world-class down.
Delegates from 20 countries are concluding the three-day ninth World Congress on Dentistry at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa at Karon.
On Friday, many delegates will move to the one-day Asian Conference of Oral Health Promotion for School Children.
The world congress is held every two years, and was in Korea last time.
Dr Waraporn Jirapongsa, head of technology development, Dental Health, Ministry of Public Health, said world-class practitioners were present from many countries, including Japan, Britain and China.
Ideas were being exchanged about how to improve dental health.
Thailand teeth will probably benefit the most. Children under 12 have many problems, with about 57 percent needing treatment, she said.
Then there were the one million teenagers among the six million in high schools who suffer toothache and lose days from their education as a result.
She added that since 2002, children from kindergarten on had been told not to include sugar as part of their diet.
Schools have been advised not to sell soft drink or snacks with sugar, Dr Waraporn said.
Children in cities in Thailand generally had better cared for teeth than those in the countryside because treatment was easier to find.
Singapore's teeth were probably better than Thai teeth because the island state was small and quality high.
However in Thailand, because of the size and the spread of the population of almost 70 million people, standards varied.
Thailand remained an excellent destination for visitors to have dentral treatment, she said, because standards of skill and technology were world-class.
And there was plenty of fresh air and fresh food on places such as Phuket to assist recovery.
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