By Pamela Mariz Geminiano/PNA
BAGUIO CITY – An estimated 1,680 indigents from this city mountain resort will soon be able to flash their sweetest smiles, after receiving free dentures from a series of wellness missions organized by retired police director Benjamin Magalong.
“Every time I see old people smiling because of something that makes them happy, I always remember my parents,” Magalong said Thursday.
Magalong organized the wellness program, which ran from November 19 to January 16, with non-government organization MediKalinga, giving free medical check-up, minor surgery, dental and optometric services, including eyeglasses, as well as medicines and dentures to about 17,800 residents from 128 barangays.
Instead of the usual medical services with free medicines, and eye check-up with free patient-specific eyeglasses, Magalong said they opted to include the giving of free dentures, instead of just the usual tooth extraction and check-up.
He noted that they consulted various sectors and came up with the idea of providing dentures because they realized that indigents content themselves with eating without dentures due to lack of money for dental services.
“We give free dentures to these indigent patients in each district who cannot avail of the services of dentists,” Magalong said, adding that he feels fulfilled “seeing their smile once they try on their new dentures.”
After their last mission on January 16, Magalong’s group again invited the listed beneficiaries of eyeglasses and dentures for the fitting and distribution.
As of Thursday, about 480 dentures have been distributed to the beneficiaries.
One of the beneficiaries of the medical mission was Auria Fagel, 64.
“Ngayon lang ako nagkaroon ng ngipin. Mula noon, isa-isang naubos dahil nabubulok (This is my first time to have dentures after my teeth, one by one, became rotten),” Fagel said.
“Malaking tulong ito kasi nakakakain na ako ng maayos at importante nakakangiti na ako na ngipin at hindi gilagid ang nakikita (It’s a big help because I can now already eat properly and, more importantly, I can now smile — with teeth and not just my gums),” she said.
After losing all her teeth, Fagel said she subsisted on soft food because she could not afford either a visit to the dentist or dentures.
“Now, I can even smile with confidence and show to the world my perfect smile,” she said.
Magalong assured the quality of the free dentures.
“We found sponsors who are willing to provide without sacrificing the quality,” he said.
The wellness activity was done per district, with each district consisting of five to seven barangays (villages). Baguio has 20 districts with a total of 128 barangays.
The 100 dentures per district allotment sufficed the 80 to 90 persons who availed of them.
After the distribution of the dentures and eyeglasses, Magalong said they will continue to engage different sectors in the barangays, including senior citizens, to address their problems.
The retired police official also assured continuous assistance for indigents.