When the last three members of the 4^th Daegu-Dongshin Dental Mission flew back to Korea last week, the four missions had installed 42 implants, 30 dentures, conducted 56 extractions, installed seven fillings and treated 135 patients from Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental.

Dental implants in the Philippines cost upwards of PhP 70-80,000 each. In South Korea, Duk Young Dental Hospital charges about US$2,000 each which is even more expensive. The four missions sought to bring the costs down to around 25% of the unit cost in Korea or 33% of what it currently costs in the Philippines. But US$500 is still a fortune in the country and the 42 implants by themselves already cost $21,000 or PhP9.45 million at an exchange rate of P45 to one US$.

However, it was the cost of the dental services conducted by some 25 highly trained dentists and dental hygienists (not counting local Korean Rotary volunteers) along with the cost of their round-trip airfare and accommodations in the Philippines which made up the bulk of the total project cost. Round trip airfare to and Korea alone for the mission members is estimated to have exceeded US$100,000.00

The four Daegu-Dongshin Dental Missions from South Korea were sponsored by matching grant project # 71711 of the Rotary Clubs West Cagayan de Oro and Daegu-Dongshin in South Korea.

The long-term project aimed to ultimately benefit indigent patients through significant improvements in their personal health. It not only directly benefited beneficiaries but also laid the foundation for long-term care thanks to training and seminars for local dentists including Drs. Arnold Duterte and Czarisse Tismo.

The last mission was headed by Dr. Baek Seung Jin with dental hygienists Yang Hee Jung and Lee Yeung Kyuns. Besides finishing up work started by the previous three missions, the last mission also turned over supplies and equipment which would enable the local dentists to continue work started by the Koreans.

With proper care and periodic check-ups with local dentists, an implant can last from 20-30 years. It´s also considered the most natural solution to missing teeth, since patients whose implants are successful will be able to eat like those with natural teeth, and much better than those with dentures.

Korean dental implants are considered among the best in the world, thanks to continued research and development for which Duk-Young Dental Hospital has already spent $6-billion to date.

      

"In Korea, implants have become popular and widely known that the level of dietary nutrition of Koreans is considered very high," Past District Governor Jae Yoon Lee said in a letter. “I hope this project will serve as a momentum in the Philippine regions so that people can carry on happy lives with healthy teeth.”

Dr. Lee, Director of the Duk Young Dental Hospital in Daegu City in South Korea, has earned a lofty prestige in the dental profession in South Korea and the world. With the highest per capita dental implant use rate in the world and the second largest market in the Asia-Pacific for dental implants and final abutments, Dr. Lee has installed over 60,000 implants over the course of his continuing career and still installs around 300 implants a month.

A graduated of the Seoul National University College, Dr. Lee is also vice chairman of the Korean International Oral Implant Alumni Association, and member of the Korea Dental Implant Academic Society and Daehan Dental Prosthetics Academic Society.

Duk Young Dental Hospital has 12 head dentists who conduct around 500 implants monthly. Together with Dr. Lee, they install around 800 implants a month, a rate that is one of the highest in South Korea and the world. Duk Young Dental Hospital has 150 dental hygienist and a 450-bed capacity mostly for post-operative patients who stay overnight for observation after receiving their implants.

The matching grant project was initiated by the Rotary Club of West Cagayan de Oro under the watch of immediate past president Mandy Tarayao and continued under the present administration of President Almarco Brito. The South Korean side was initiated by PDG Lee and continued by Lee Jon Man and the Daegu-Dongshin Rotary Club.

“As I look back, I give thanks to the kind consideration and concern of President Al and members of the Rotary International District 3870, all the service activities were finished smoothly without any difficulty,” Dr. Lee noted.

Besides being a past district governor of RI District 3700 (2001-2002), Dr. Lee is also committee chairman of Rotary Korea (2006-2008), president of the RI Amateur Paduk Club, and recipient of a Citizen´s Honorary recognition (Camellia Award) and World Rotary Superior District Award, among many others.

A respected civic leader, Dr. Lee is also active in the unification movement of the two Koreas, being chairman of the National Unification Central Conference, counselor of the Presidential Advisory Unification Consultation Committee, president of the Dept. of Defense Correction Committee Central Conference and consultant, Democratic Peace Unification Advisory Committee.