MANILA -- Have you encountered somebody using Mighty Bond as dental adhesives or chicken wire for dental braces?

Believe it or not, there are people who pass themselves as “dentists” even if they have no license from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). Some blatantly work out in the open, while there are more careful ones who work incognito or operate their fly-by-night business secretly. Still, they earn good money.

This is the personal advocacy launched by Dr. Mario Guiang, Jr. of Tarlac City only last year as he vowed to go after fake dentists so they can stop making money by prying on hapless souls, who unsuspectingly patronize the illegal dentistry trade.

He said some of these fake “dentists” are still dental students, those who didn’t pass the dental board or those who are really fake ones without any professional license.

It is for this reason Guiang also joined the 2,000-strong Dentists Against Dental Do-It-Yourself (DADD) practice, with members from all over the Philippines.

SELLING ON FACEBOOK

DADD, according to Guiang, is an association of dentists who police the illegal practice of dentistry. “There are those who even do online selling on FB (Facebook),” said Guiang, who started fighting illegal dentistry only last year.

“Last year, I had one charity patient who usually went to me for free dental care,” Guiang shared. “One time, she went back to me to have her gums checked. I found out she was already wearing braces and she paid only P5,000.

“Her gums were swollen and I had to extract some of her teeth. She had wires in her teeth na puro kalawang. I was told the one who did it was only an HRM (Hotel and Restaurant Management) student.

“So, I reported my patient’s case to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Tarlac and they did an entrapment. It was a clear violation of the Dental Act. Until now, we’re still doing court hearings. Even if you do home service, dental care should be with a professional and licensed dentist.”

What Guiang did served as an “awakening” for the other dentists to know about illegal practice. “There are those who use a nailcutter to cut the wires,” he said. “Those are home tools. There’s also no such thing as fashion braces.”

Now taking his Masters in periodontics, Guiang wanted to become a lawyer when he was younger. However, his mother wanted him to pursue dentistry. Ever the obedient son that he is, Guiang went on to fulfill the desire of his mom to see him join the dental profession.

He enrolled at the Centro Escolar University (CEU) School of Dentistry in Mendiola. After he graduated from dental school in 1996, he practiced for a year in Tarlac, then went to Chicago, Illinois and stayed there for 10 years.

In 2010, Guiang moved to Rome and joined his parents. Two years later, he went back to the Philippines and was already doing highly specialized dentistry – periodontics (gum specialization and treatment), cosmetic dentistry and implantology.

The third child in a brood of four, Guiang proudly shares that his parents are both overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Italy who raised their kids with hard-earned money.

Their eldest works for the government as head of the Disaster Coordinating Council in Tarlac. The second is a nurse and his only sister works in Italy with their mom.

His dad, Mario Sr., passed away in 2014.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Guiang has an eight-year-old son and is a single dad. The dentist loves to travel and does lectures abroad about his profession – in the US, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Italy.

To date, Guiang has more than 100,000 followers on Facebook. There was a time he got 2,800 views in only five hours and lots of shares.

Guiang laments there are many dentists, sadly, who are merely concerned about making money. “I help in the rehabilitation of patients. I raise awareness about illegal dentistry. Not every dentist will attend hearings. To me, it’s a personal advocacy.”

He continues: “My only goal was to treat my patients and give justice to the patient. It’s my social responsibility as a dentist and citizen of this country, that I need to do something about any illegal dental practice.”

The city government of Tarlac has launched a campaign against illegal dentistry, complete with advertising.