The dentistry field in Taiwan has an “8020” goal of helping most people retain at least 20 natural teeth at the age of 80 and beyond, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he met with members of the Taiwan Dental Association (TWDA).
A delegation of TWDA members who traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, in May to voice support for Taiwan’s participation in the annual World Health Assembly (WHA), the decisionmaking body of the WHO, visited Lai at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.
Lai said he was glad to meet the delegation and convey his gratitude on behalf of the nation, as Taiwan’s participation not only concerns Taiwanese people’s right to health, but also affects global disease prevention.
Photo: CNA
“We clearly know that if our health ministry had not been on high alert, the COVID-19 pandemic would have caused more harm to Taiwan, and even to the world,” he said. “This is an important reason why we want to join the WHO.”
The dentistry field’s contribution to people’s health is not limited to speaking up for Taiwan during the WHA, but also their daily efforts to take care of people’s oral health, he said.
“Dentists have not let the people’s expectations or the government’s support down, as throughout the years, they have promoted oral health to students on campuses and families in households, and even voluntarily provided many oral health services in remote areas,” Lai said.
Moreover, under the TWDA’s efforts and the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s support, people can receive regular government-funded dental checkups and cleanings, he said.
“It is very important for people to get a checkup and cleaning every six months for early detection and treatment of potential problems,” he said.
The National Health Insurance System provides free dental checkups and cleanings every six months for people older than 12, while pregnant women, people with xerostomia, diabetes or cancer, had a stroke or are on dialysis can get it every three months, the Presidential Office said.
During his presidential election campaign, Lai pledged to work with healthcare professionals to create a healthy Taiwan, and it includes a clear goal held by the nation’s dentistry field — the “8020 campaign” that the WHO also promotes.
“The ‘8020’ goal is for people to retain at least 20 natural teeth at the age of 80 or beyond,” he said.
As Taiwan’s democracy and freedom have been recognized by international society, and the nation’s economy and industries are constantly advancing, the improvement of the people’s health is crucially important, Lai said.
He said he was looking forward to all healthcare professionals, including dentists, physicians, nurses, pharmacists and others to work together and do their part in creating a “healthy Taiwan.”
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS