KUCHING: Sarawak is well aware of the potential held out by dental services, both to locals and outsiders, as the state develops as a digital economy.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johar Tun Openg said however, the government must not neglect the need to provide dental healthcare to the rakyat who do not have the means to seek private dental healthcare.
He said the country has come a long way from the early days of bread-and butter dentistry to specialised oral health care.
“In this regard, I am happy to mention that the Sarawak Health Department has made tremendous efforts to improve the quality of life of the people in Sarawak through the continuous improvement of oral healthcare delivery, in addition to other developments in healthcare.
“In recent years, we have seen more new hospitals being built in Sarawak, namely Petra Jaya Hospital and Unimas.
“I am pleased to inform you that another new Normah Hospital, allocating 320 beds will be set up by the riverbank. Here, I wish to applaud the Sarawak Health Department for its relentless effort to ensure the rakyat’s accessibility to oral healthcare,” he said.
Abang Johari, represented by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, was speaking at the launch of the 12th Borneo Dental Congress and Trade Exhibition here today.
Currently, there are 49 government dental clinics in Sarawak, with 39 dental clinics providing primary oral healthcare services to the general public, while the Sarawak Health Department is pursuing the development of another five new dental facilities together with Health Clinics, namely Siburan, Serian, Tabuan Jaya and Lawas Dental Clinics while the ongoing project in Hospital Petra Jaya will provide specialist dental healthcare.
Besides providing dental healthcare for the general public, he said, the oral health care of school children in Sarawak is not forgotten either.
A total of 151 school dental clinics are providing incremental dental care annually for primary and secondary school children.
Apart from that, the school dental care services are extended to the teachers and school staff in 27 selected schools in Sarawak through a new initiative called “Program Pemasyarakatan Klinik Pergigian Sekolah”.
As of December 31, 2022, there were 436 dental officers and specialists in Sarawak’s government service and five non-MoH government dental officers. Out of the figure, 33 are dental specialists.
Oral health care needs in Sarawak are also taken care of by dentists in the private sector.
There were 129 private dental clinics in 2022 with 205 private dental practitioners. This figure made the ratio of population to dentist 1:3829 in Sarawak in the year 2022.
