SOME 240 Malaysians aged 50 and above will benefit from the provision of free dentures under a dental care brand’s corporate social responsibility programme.
During the launch of the Polident Malaysia campaign, Haleon general manager for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Neelesh Suryavanshee announced that selected patients would receive free dentures and oral health education.
Priority will be given to Malaysians from the lower-income group who are completely edentulous (toothless) on upper or lower or both arches.
Haleon is a multinational consumer healthcare company that owns and manufactures the Polident brand of denture adhesives and cleansers.
“This campaign is about more than just the provision of dentures; it’s really a movement to restore smiles, confidence, and connections with family, friends, and the wider community.
“In addition to free dentures, the programme will integrate education and research.
“This will see dental students fabricating and fitting dentures under specialist supervision and participating in hands-on patient care,” he said.
He added that it would also include a clinical study led by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) to track the patients’ quality of life over 12 months.
“The data collected will be contributed to Malaysia’s oral health evidence base.”
Neelesh said the programme was also supported by a consumer pledge, whereby RM1 would be donated to the programme for every Polident product bought at Watsons stores in Malaysia.
“This programme is a shared responsibility that really demonstrates what happens when industry, retailer and academia come together.
“May this programme bring many smiles back, especially to those who need them most.”
Dr Hetal Ashvin Kumar, a specialist in restorative dentistry from UKM, said there would be collaborations with partner institutions in Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Mara and Mahsa Universiti.
This is to expand the campaign’s reach and impact across respective patient populations.
Dr Hetal said teeth loss did not only affect one’s aesthetic appearance but also affected oral health and overall well-being.
“The absence of anterior teeth, for example, can significantly compromise daily oral function, affecting biting efficiency, food mastication and speech clarity.
“Individuals with missing teeth often shift to a soft-food diet, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies and a diminished enjoyment of a diverse range of foods.”
As part of the study, Dr Hetal said questionnaires would be given to patients to answer.
They will gauge functional limitations, pain and psychological or social issues related to teeth loss.
Assessments will be conducted after denture delivery – at the start, at one week, three months, six months and 12 months.
A sum of RM80,000 was pledged in support of the campaign.
Watsons Malaysia trading head (Beauty) Carrol Tan, Neelesh and Dr Hetal were at the mock cheque presentation.
The campaign launch held at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre, Kuala Lumpur, was mostly attended by dental students.
Livening up the event was a forum by Malaysian Dental Association president Dr Chong Zhen Feng and a presentation on denture care and oral health by dentists Dr Dylan Ong and Dr Putri Emilda Zainal Abidin.
Participants in the question- and-answer sessions were rewarded with gift packs.
Also present was Dr Siti Zuriana Mohd Zamzuri who represented Health Ministry deputy director-general for oral health.
Those interested can walk in to any one of the dental clinics at the four universities for an oral examination.
