As Noreen Ocampo—a Philippine-born, Canadian-trained dental hygienist on a medical mission to the Philippines—peered into the mouth of a young boy from Smokey Mountain, her heart broke at what she saw.
“Nabulok na ang permanent teeth (his permanent teeth were all rotted out),” Ocampo said.
She said most of the kids from Smokey Mountain—one of the biggest slums in the Philippines—use salt as toothpaste, as they can’t afford basic necessities such as toothbrushes and toothpaste.
“(Salt is) abrasive, walang (no) fluoride, (they have a diet) high in sugar, high carbs intake, kaya nabulok ang ngipin nila (that’s why their teeth rotted out),” she explained, her voice cracking with emotion.
Ocampo said that volunteer organizations can’t rely on giving families from Smokey Mountain donations of toothbrushes and toothpastes as they end up selling them for cash.
“If we were to give them toothbrushes and toothpaste, they might sell them. We had to leave the toothbrushes and toothpaste at (their) school,” said Ocampo.
“It was my first (mission)…it was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I’m from Nueva Ecija, I was only 14 when I came to Canada. Hindi kami nadala sa community na ganun. (We have never gone to a community like that).”
“It was shocking. I’ve met homeless (people) in Canada. In comparison to these kids and their parents…privileged ang homeless natin. (Our homeless are privileged.)”
“We got bigger, giving back to the community”
Ocampo is the founder and president of The Filipino-Canadian Dental Hygienists’ Society, a 65-member organization based in Toronto, Ont.
Started in 2018, Ocampo grew the membership as she found other dental hygienists who “wanted to give back to the community”.
“In my role as a mom, as a daughter, as a wife, I always thought I can do more. So I asked myself, ano kaya ang gusto kong gawin (what should I do)?”
As someone who really loves her profession, she wanted to start helping out in the community.
The organization started to flourish as members held free clinics and professional development programs where they picked relevant topics and sought out speakers for presentations.
“We got bigger, giving back to the community.”
Dental hygienist a lucrative career
Ocampo was surprised to learn that in the last year, only 20 dental hygienists graduated from the Philippines, and that it’s “not really recognized”.
Dental hygienists in Canada typically take a two-year course costing about $40,000+ for the duration of the course.
With a $45 per hour starting salary, up to a maximum of $65 per hour, dental hygienists can have a very lucrative, in-demand career.
In Canada, dental hygienists can also have their own dental clinic, without a dentist present.
“We are regulated health professionals. We can work on our own…so many outlets as educator, speaker, public health hygienist, and working at private clinics.”
“It’s a good course to get into…what I was thinking was that nurses are making such a good reputation all over the world. Why can’t we produce more dental professionals from the Philippines?”
When Ocampo travelled to the Philippines on a medical mission, she noticed that there’s a big discrepancy in dental procedures for staff trained locally, versus those trained in North America.
“Super behind ang Philippines…big difference. In-offer ko sa kanila, online education—yun ang gift ko sa kanila. (I offered online education—that was my gift to them.)
Canadian community services
The Filipino-Canadian Dental Hygienist Society doesn’t just help Filipinos abroad, they also have community outreach programs in Canada.
They provided free services to the homeless community, as well as four to five free clinics throughout the year.
Ocampo said that their organization still needs to promote awareness in the community about what they offer.
“I’m not sure if it’s a pride thing,” Ocampo observed, that there are so many government programs for kids and seniors, but Filipinos don’t sign up.
“I can give them (access to) low-cost dental office in the GTA. You don’t have to suffer.
“The dental problem is a human need that should be part of our basic human rights.
It should be accessible to everyone,” said Ocampo.
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