Melai Cantiveros recalls the first time she saw dentures: 'Parang naging goldfish...'

Melai Cantiveros

One of Melai Cantiveros' dreams as a child was quite unusual: To wear dentures.

"Nakita ko kasi yung sa lola ko, parang naging goldfish yung pustiso niya kapag nakalagay sa baso," she said at the Polident trade and media launch at Trinoma on April 12.

The comedienne added that besides, she thought she needed to wear dentures because her teeth are of "a different kinds of sizes"----a funny description with grammar as awry as gnashers in need of braces.

"Duon ko nakita na pag may pustiso, pwede pala naging maganda ang ngipin mo," she said like it were slogan 

Melai's teeth are still holding up at this point---and she hopes it stays that way for a long time---yet she isn't one who finds those who wear dentures, shall we say, "laughable."

"Hindi naging negative ang tingin ko sa mga taong nakapustiso. Sumama ako sa mga tao na naging inspiration nila ang gumanda ang ngipin sa pamamagitan ng pagsuot ng pustiso..."

No wonder the denture care brand tapped her as ambassador for its annual advocacy called "Polident Oplan Balik-Ngiti: Ilabas Ang Ngiting Pustiso Confident 2.0."

In partnership with Philippine Dental Association (PDA) and Philippine Association of Registered Dental Technologists (PARDTI), and in cooperation with Mercury Drug, St. Joseph Drug, and Rose Pharmacy, the advocacy aims to raise funds to make 1000 dentures. The ongoing campaign sees to it that one peso from each sale of Polident product in the mentioned outlets will fund the making of the free dentures to help those who need it.                  

Through Oplan Balik-Ngiti, Polident will go to different parts of the country to give away free dentures, conduct "Pustiso" Care Education, and provide Polident denture care products.

We asked Melai about the first time she had an awareness of her sense of humor.

"Nagsimula ito nung bata pa ako, yung mga classmates ko na pinapansin nila na nakakatawa ako," she said. "Tuwing tumatawa sila, gumiginhawa ang pakiramdam ko. Di ba yung iba, nahihiya o feeling bullied pag tinatawanan? Ako, maginhawa sa pakiramdam kaya nagtuloy-tuloy."

At the launch, the attendees learned everything about dentures in the featured booths. There were free consultation and checkup, denture making demo, Polident product demo, Kapit Test Booth, and Camera 360 booth. More importantly, experts from PDA and PARTDI discussed the importance of oral health.