Philos Health is a San Fransisco based not-for-profit corporation. In collaboration with local partners, they help improve the health of the community in Jagna, Bohol Island – Philippines.

The Molineaux Children’s Dental Clinic

In 2015 Philos Health, in collaboration with the Bohol Department of Education, ICHECK, a local NGO, and Susan and Christopher Molineaux established the first school based free dental clinic in the Philippines. A full-service dental clinic is housed in a space provided by the Department of Education.

An assessment of preschool kids prior to opening the clinic found that 97% had cavities with the average child having 6+ cavities. Since the opening of the Clinic, 2500 students have been treated. The clinic provides cleans, fillings, sealants, fluoride treatments, extractions, x-rays and oral examinations.

Philos Health has also taken steps to establish preventative health measures for oral hygiene. These steps include toothbrushes and paste for in-home brushing and for daily classroom brushing supervised by teachers. Every child is cavity-free when they complete 6th grade.

The clinic has one full-time assistant and one dental assistant. During the year, volunteer dental professionals supplement the services provided. Since opening, the Molineaux Children’s Dental clinic has provided 28,000 treatments.

The Boctol Rotary Children’s Dental Clinic

Rotary Club of Central Jagna, a new children’s dental clinic was established at Boctol Elementary School in Jagna. The new clinic provides a full range of dental treatments to the 450 kids at the elementary school and nearby schools. In the first two years of operation, 2700 children received treatments.

Since, they have been awarded a second grant to enable the Clinic to focus on treating pregnant women and their babies. The Clinic found that by the time children started kindergarten many already had a mouth full of cavities along with infections, abscesses, and missing teeth. A focus of the new grant is to prevent cavities among 5-year-olds by starting education and treatment at an earlier age.