PUTRAJAYA, March 21 — Eight out of ten Malaysians are not aware that they have dental problems, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

According to Dr  Dzulkefly, studies show that only 27.4 per cent of adults go for dental checkup each year while 42 per cent of adults visit the dentist every two years.

Speaking at the launch of the World Dental Health Day Celebration here yesterday, he said the low percentage was mainly due to public perception that they have no dental problems.

"They are not interested in dental esthetics but are more interested in smile perfection with teeth whitening.

"The general paradigm is that teeth are associated with beauty not illnesses such as non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and this sad," he said.

He said there were many serious illnesses such as mouth cancer and oral infection caused by bacterial infection which required intensive care treatment at the hospital. — Bernama