Chelsea DeVere: November 2012

Daily cleaning of your teeth, gums and tongue, combined with annual check-ups, has a host of health benefits. Good oral hygiene wards off harmful bacteria and microbes that may cause tooth decay, bleeding gums, and oral infections. Proper oral hygiene is also important in helping you stay healthy, especially if you have risk factors such as diabetes and heart problems. Other than keeping associated diseases at bay, oral hygiene elevates a person’s sense of self-esteem. This is especially true for teenagers and adults who frequently interact with others at work or in social situations. Maintaining proper oral hygiene ensures that embarrassing conditions, such as plaque, tartar and more commonly, bad breath are not experienced. Keeping optimal oral hygiene lowers the need to treat dental problems that could otherwise be inexpensively prevented.

In 1975, after years of civil war, Cambodia suffered a devastating blow to its development as the Khmer Rouge took control of Phnom Penh. Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot's vision for a Cambodia absent of any social institutions such as banks, universities, religions or any modern technology centered on a return to an agrarian communist society.

The Khmer Rouge guerilla organization sought to triple agricultural production in a year, as the population of Phnom Penh and every major city was "marched" into the countryside to begin a new life without the trappings of capitalism and free markets. The means of implementation were to begin exterminating anyone who didn't fit with or comply with this new ideal. The "new" nation was being turned back to "Year Zero", and intellectuals, businessmen, doctors, Buddhist leaders and foreigners were "purged." It is estimated that 1.5 to 2 million people were killed during this time.

The "purging" continued unabated until Vietnamese troops, provoked by border skirmishes with the Khmer Rouge, invaded in 1979 and sent the Khmer Rouge back to the jungles. After a decade of occupation, the Vietnamese withdrew in 1989. In 1991, the United Nations established the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). In May, 1993, elections were held and a new coalition government was formed between the two leading parties, ushering in a period of relative political peace. The Khmer Rouge did not finally stop killing Cambodians until 1998, when Pol Pot died.

Cambodia continues on its road of recovery. One quarter of the population was killed between 1975 and 1979, and today, over 33% of the Cambodia's people are children. More than one third of the population lives on less that $1 a day. As the nation rebuilds its infrastructure and social mechanisms, massive inequality between the urban centers and the rural poor continues to grow. Over 75% of the population lives in rural communities characterized by malnutrition and limited access to health services. Rapid urbanization has caused stress on financial resources in an economy where it is estimated external donors supply about half the nation's budget. Today, Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in the region.

Director of Phnom Penh’s Pachem Dental Clinic Leag Ton says Cambodians are facing serious dental problems. “In developed countries, dental health is very important, but Cambodians … don’t place much importance on their teeth. Life goes on, even with tooth ache,” Leag says.