THE FILIPINO BOXERS: THE STATUS OF THEIR DENTAL HEALTH
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 19 Feb 2010
I never thought that I would be writing again about the dental health of Filipino boxers to once more bring the issue out in the open and to the attention of their managers, handlers and trainers why it is so important to pay more attention to the dental health of these young warriors.
But after seeing boxer after boxer come to my office for pro bono fitting of custom made mouthguards with very poor oral conditions, I felt it is my professional obligation to once more bring the issue up front and hopefully finally find a solution.
With any luck, it will awaken these people that handle Filipino boxers to a point where they will realize that there is more to grooming future world champions that meets the eye.
I have spoken to several people about this subject and most of the feedback I got was, “You are barking at the wall,” meaning it is useless to gripe about it as a great majority of these handlers could care less about the oral health of their boxers. One even said, “they treat them like fighting cocks, do you think they would even care about their teeth?”
Case in point:
I got a call last Friday on my way to Las Vegas for the Pinoy Power 3 Fight Card at the Hilton Las Vegas. A member of Team Pacquiao called me saying that Eden Sonsona is in dire need of dental work. Sonsona is booked to fight at the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard on March 13th.
As if it was my responsibility to assure that these boxers are in good oral health. It is one thing giving them free mouthguards, but it’s another thing having to take care of their dental needs without anyone assuring that I may at least get a “thank you” let alone being paid for the work.
I asked the caller detailed questions about Sonsona’s need and I determined that the situation was not life threatening that would require me to turn around and immediately attend to him. I asked them to come the following Monday when I get back from Vegas.
When I finally got Sonsona on my chair I felt so sorry for him. Check that! I felt so disgusted with his handlers!
The general condition of his mouth, on a range of 1 to 10, with ten being best, is a very poor 4. The kid has several broken down teeth that are hopeless and must be removed. (see photos)
Condition of Sonsona's teeth - Maxilla.
Condition of Sonsona's front teeth.
Sonsona's front teeth after a provisional bridge has been put into place and the fractured incissor was repaired.
I informed him of his condition and the possible repercussions to his coming bout on March 13th on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard.
Sonsona understood the situation but at the very moment his only priority is to fix a fracture front tooth and replace another that was missing so that he can smile without showing a gap on his front teeth.
I did as he requested and Sonsona left very happy.
But before that I reminded him that he is in a great danger of missing his fight because of his severe oral condition. He understood what I explained to him, but given the situation, he had almost no choice. But he promised to see a dentist when he goes back to Manila.
Or the very least tell his handlers about his dental situation.
Sonsona’s case should not have gotten to this point. Had his handlers in Manila truly cared about him, the least they could have done is take the kid to a dentist for proper management of his dental needs before he was flown to the US.
And I wish everyone else will do the same. After all, these handlers make money off these boxers. The least they could do in return is take care of their dental needs.
Is that really so difficult to do? Do they really care?
Do we really need to have another Pancho Villa incident to wake up and realize the importance of having optimum dental health for our boxers? (Villa, the first Filipino world champion, died from complications of dental problems.)
Perhaps at this point I should also address the GAB, the Philippine government entity responsible for licensing Filipino boxers.
Does anyone, at that agency know how important it is for athletes to have good oral health?
If so, why do they allow these boxers to fight abroad or even locally when their teeth are in very bad shape?
What’s GAB’s protocol regarding dentistry? They do visual, urine and blood exams as well as take x-rays, EKG and ECG. Why can’t they look inside the mouth?
Perhaps it is time that a dentist is assigned with the GAB.
But then again, just like the managers, does GAB really care about boxer’s oral health?
I should hope so!
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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