The Department of Health (DoH) — along with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) Board of Directors en banc — approved on Friday the country’s first preventive oral healthcare benefit package.

DoH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said that the benefit package is designed to pay for annual routine preventive oral care services for every Filipino, such as mouth examination/oral screening, dental prophylaxis (cleaning) and fluoride varnish application.

He added that there will also be coverage for pit and fissure sealants and Class V procedures as needed for a maximum of two teeth. Emergency tooth extractions and dental consultations will also be part of the benefit package.

The PhilHealth Board approved the landmark expansion of primary care benefits to cover the mouth, in line with the overall vision of “Ngiting 70-20” to ensure that more Filipinos will reach the age of 70 with 20 permanent teeth still in place.

The approval coincided with the country’s participation in the first-ever World Health Organization (WHO) Global Oral Health Meeting (GOHM) in Bangkok, Thailand, from 26 to 29 November.

The PhilHealth Board approved a maximum payment of P1,000 per patient per year for preventive oral health services, to be paid as follows — P300 for the first visit, covering mouth examination/oral screening, oral prophylaxis (cleaning) and fluoride varnish application; another P300 for a second visit at least four months apart from the first visit, for the same services; and P200 per tooth (maximum of two teeth per year) for pit and fissure sealant or a Class V procedure.

There will be no co-payment allowed for public dentists, while private dentists will be allowed maximum co-payment charges per visit of P1,500 for mouth examination and oral prophylaxis; P600 for pit and fissure sealant or Class V procedure; and P600 for emergency tooth extraction.