The Philippine Dental Association, in partnership with Colgate, commemorated on Monday National Dental Health Month by promoting proper oral health among children through effective oral care habits.

The celebration focused on teaching 1,500 schoolchildren of Timoteo Paez Elementary School about the importance of regular dental check-ups, proper and consistent fluoride varnish application, and brushing their teeth.

"It is our commitment at PDA and as a professional organization to continuously make valuable and sustainable program that would contribute to a better oral health for our community," Dr. Emmanuel Centeneo, president of the PDA, said in his speech.

"Thus, our project... which aims to collect one million toothbrushes, hindi na natin problema (it's no longer our problem). We'll give all of them, [to] all our chapters, all the public school nationwide, especially in Visayas and Mindanao para maturuan ng tamang pagsisipilyo (so we could teach them the right way to brush their teeth)," Centeno added.

As part of the "Isang Milyong Sipilyo, Angat Nating Pilipino" program and in celebration of National Toothbrushing Day, Colgate distributed thousands of oral care kits to Filipino schoolchildren.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), around 92.4 percent of Filipinos have tooth decay and 78 percent have gum diseases.

The most common oral health diseases in the Philippines are dental caries (tooth decay) and periodontal diseases (gum diseases).

February has been declared "Oral Health Month" in the Philippines to encourage Filipinos to take care of their oral health.