The Portuguese Dental Association (OMD) presented to the Minister of Health a proposal for the creation of a strategy and planning committee for oral health, with the objective of defining, in the short, medium and long term, proposals with effective responses to medical needs. -dental care of the Portuguese population.
The OMD intends to reformulate the National Program for the Promotion of Oral Health (PNPSO) and focus it on a logic of prevention and promotion of oral health, with a specific financing model, which makes use of different models of access to oral health care, whether public, private or the social sector.
For Miguel Pavão, chairman of the OMD, “oral diseases continue to be the health area most neglected by health systems, resulting in an oral health deficit for the Portuguese. Reversing this reality is complex and lacks a multidimensional approach that allows for a transversal and integrated articulation of public health policies, with a view to reducing the burden of oral diseases. It is essential in this equation to relate social inequalities, poverty and addictive behaviors and addictions in oral diseases”.
During the meeting, the Minister of Health recognized that it is a complex and difficult task to reverse the delays of several years of investment in oral health.
Among the proposals presented by the chairman is the creation of oral health units in all health centers, with the entry of dentists in the Regional Health Administration to lead the implementation and development strategy, in conjunction with the General Directorate of Health. The OMD wants dentists to manage the local and regional teams and even the national team of the PNPSO, which classically has been given to professionals without specific training in oral health.
The chairman of the OMD reveals that “we asked the minister to move quickly with the creation of the commission in order to resolve this patchwork of oral health in the SNS. It is important for everyone to understand that there is no general health without oral health. A maxim that has been forgotten. The SNS is over 40 years old, but the dental check was only created in 2008, and as a solution limited to some audiences. In other words, there is a huge delay in relation to other areas of health”.
The OMD defends the extension of the dental check to new segments, namely an emergency check for trauma and a review of technical aids for, for example, dental prostheses. The OMD also calls for a review of the value of the dental check, reduced since 2014, within the scope of the troika's financial rescue program.
Knowing that Marta Temido takes over the health financing dossier, Miguel Pavão questioned the minister about the allocation of funds for oral health in the State Budget for this year, which the Government will deliver this Wednesday to Parliament.
The chairman of the OMD recalls that “the government program approved in the Assembly of the Republic is very vague in relation to oral health. He has intentions, but nothing comes true. What we want from the Minister of Health is that she takes action, that she commits herself to a fixed budget for oral health in the State Budget, which can also additionally be financed with revenue from the tax on soft drinks. We want a fixed budget for oral health, we want to know where and how it is invested. It is the only way to guarantee that all Portuguese people have access to medical and dental care. Both the SNS and the private sector are part of the solution, the Government understands the need to address oral health in a more strategic, integrated and inclusive way”.
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