Tuesday, 15 February 2011

424. The drama also oral health in the Autonomous Region of Madeira

The Regional Health Service in our region is too serious shortcomings. Addressing the situation of Oral Health, although there was some effort to improve this service, the reality today is very dramatic. The shortcomings of users reaching desperation.
For example, students with more than 12 years, belonging to disadvantaged families or have to be very poor, are not entitled to a dental service in a prompt, efficient and, in some cases not even have no chance solve the problem of oral health. I present a concrete situation and truthful.
In December 2009, my student was in class with toothaches. Head lying on the desk with a scarf wrapped on his face. He could not stand the pain. The tears flowed on his face. He said that a few days ago was awakened by a slight pain, like worse then their poor financial resources, went to the Health Center, the family doctor who sent it to the hospital. However, despite the urgency, had no right to consult a dentist's Regional Health Service, because he already had 15 years of age.
So new query to the family doctor, one more week, then the doctor at the state and no alternative, such as toothache kept the teenager, prescribed some antibiotics and some painkillers to try to remedy the situation and thus postpone the unavoidable.
A scandal. Astounded at the story of the student and touched by the situation because the student had no social conditions for a private dentist and had too old to be treated at the hospital, I had to act.
Not part of my philosophy of life stand to watch and do nothing. Although the student was a better time, as has been numbed with drugs, but just what effect has the excruciating pain returned. There she was lost in pain. And I know what's toothache.
However, I contacted the outset, the head of the class who tried to do everything possible to resolve the problem but no solution could be through the School. The insurance did not cover the much less school social action and, therefore, the school was tied helplessly.
I remembered calling my dear friend André Escórcio to require their help. How do I know that is a man preoccupied with these situations of injustice and has more experience than me, I asked him for help.
He made his contacts and here comes a solution. The Head of the class should contact the Social Worker of the student's area of residence for this technique to make the study of family and then to prove that the family had not really economic conditions to pay a private dentist, then it prompted the intervention of the Security Social. And so it was. The social worker was contacted, made the process of family assessment, which took a few days.
The director told me in class, last Friday, that the case, finally, more than a month later, will be referred to Social Security. It will be! Today I had class with the student and asked if we had the consultation and told me, very much satisfied that everything was resolved and now all that remained to make an appointment. Has not been consulted! You still have the pain, milder, because the painkillers fulfill their role.
We are very pleased with the outcome, although dissatisfied with the delay and the time wasted on unnecessary bureaucracy. This is the reality of our regional health system. The student was lucky to have found teachers concerned and attentive to detect the state of your health and not rest until they found a solution, despite the slowness of the process. However, this is a mere case.
How this student there are hundreds unsolved.
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This case goes beyond all bounds of human dignity. I hope the authorities, notably the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health to establish responsibility and know where the system failed. Why can not the girl was immediately referred to a dentist or a dentist?
After all what good is the school social action and the dentist's Regional Health Service?

Saturday, 12 February 2011

423. One country, different regions and different approaches to intervention from the Dental Association

The leader of the Order of Dentists in the Autonomous Region of Madeira stresses that there are 14 dentists working in the health centers of the region on a rotational basis. At the health center of Bom Jesus work 11 (and four hygienists, one of them within the coordination of the Oral Health Programme) and three in Porto Santo, and in Porto Moniz service delivery is done by those professionals, all days of the week on a rotational basis.
Gil Alves welcomes the announcement of one more seat (which can be a dentist or work full time on a rotating basis) in Bom Jesus and another at the health center of Machico.
It is noted that in Porto Moniz all children are served the county until the age of 18, while in the Bom Jesus only up to 12 years. In the first are also treated all adults with chronic conditions do not allow them to travel to Funchal to transact their dental treatments. In the municipality of Porto Santo care is extended to all residents.
Gil Alves also notes that are provided at the health center of Bom Jesus, school emergencies in the dental traumatology students from three to 18 years, since the academic year 2005/2006, following agreement between the SARS and the Secretariat Education.
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The news gets to know that the Order of Dentists in Madeira stands for a dental public health at Health Centres in the region. One day we will also apply this example in Portugal?

422. Father, can I be when I grow teeth dentist to treat the other children?

The combination of the economic interests of the Government and the purpose of the Order of Dentists in the future to restrict the number of dentists could cause a drastic reduction of the accessibility of most of its population to oral health care in coming years.
==========================
Asked about the possible recruitment of more dentists to the National Health Service, the State Secretary of Health Manuel Pizarro assured that this is not the strategy of the Ministry of Health. This strategy would mean that we would put the National Health Service (SNS) to compete with a network that already exists throughout the country offices and clinics of dentistry. From the viewpoint of general national interest that would not be a good strategy and would double the investment to substitute cooperation for competition, he argued.
To re-elected president of the College of Dentists, the improvement rates of population's access to oral health care is a top priority, but noted also the excess of dentists as a problem to solve. Unfortunately this leads many hundreds of dentists to have to find other countries to practice and obviously this is a frustration for younger doctors who see great possibilities for the profession in Portugal and this is a major problem, pointed Orlando Monteiro.
For Orlando Monteiro, the problem is solved with the adequacy of the number of vacancies in each of the seven colleges to the real needs of the country, as well as greater investment in colleges and postgraduate courses in Lusophone Countries, where there is a huge shortage of dentists. That colleges are geared more towards quality rather than quantity as for the case today, he added.
* * *
I want to express, first and on behalf of all oral health professionals who still work in the National Health S ervice, the biggest repudiation by the statements and intentions expressed by the State Secretary of Health Manuel Pizarro. This is a completely in opposition to the interests of the population, against all professional public that we still have in the area of oral health and only demonstrates the underlying interest to dismantle what remains of the National Health S ervice and create conditions that oral health is in the hands of private with absolute greed for profit.
More: putting the National Health Service to compete with a network that already exists throughout the country offices and dental clinics would be the best way to promote quality and reduce costs by encouraging the population. The design competition is to avoid an unnatural idea, we all studied the times of socialism in the Soviet Union and we all know what the results were.
Regarding the position of limiting the number of dentists, it is a stand against the Constitution and a clear violation of the aspirations of young people who want to come to practice dentistry in the future, it would be a serious intervention into the market oral health, would seriously undermine the overwhelming majority of its population and would contribute to strengthening the already dramatic social contrasts in access to oral health care.
Portugal, by contrast, is in urgent need of extending the offer to provide oral health services to meet the pressing needs, this is only possible with a still substantial enlargement of the number of dentists in order to reach the most remote regions geographically and contribute to better market regulation assigned to the area of health, contributing to a better quality of services and a significant reduction in costs.
In short, this time there is still a clear lack of dentists in Portugal and the fact that many leave abroad does not contribute to better oral health in Portugal, especially after having been formed at the expense of our taxes.
Better self regulation of the activity and the opening of specialty hospitals and public health centers should be the first priority to take into account both by government and Dental Association.
Does it not occur to any parent stop a child from wanting to become a dentist.

Monday, 7 February 2011

421. Oral health in the Project Area is the twelfth year of schooling

Link:
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The Project Area is a discipline of the twelfth year of schooling that aims, among other things, promote educational and vocational guidance of students, listing the projects developed within their context of work and career or prepare for further studies and insertion in the labor market.
It was in this discipline that this blog appeared. We are students of the twelfth grade of the course Science and Technology, School of Dr. Francisco Fernandes Lopes (Olhão), and we intend to develop over the years the Oral Health topic, focusing especially on youth.
This blog will then serve as a means of reporting all that the group will perform throughout the year and all events and initiatives that are being streamlined.

Wednesday, 2 February 2011

420. Portuguese children: State issued checks without dental coverage


Father, my check bounced
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In September, Jose Carlos received a voucher to the dentist for her daughter to be seen for free at a private clinic. The date was June, but only reached him three months later. Still, he called the office and made an appointment. He managed to wave in November.
Weeks later, he received a letter home to pay for the consultation, because the check-dentist was out of time. The complaint went to the Minister of Health, through the deputy of PCP Bernardino Soares, but the check issued by the State bald father to this port is not unique.
The coordinator of the National Oral Health, Rui Calado, admits he has received several complaints. But as the computer system does not allow coupons register after the deadline, states that there is no way to know how many checks were delivered to schools after the date, or how many parents have missed the limit by accident. If it is proved that the delays were in our services or schools, to find a solution, he asserts.
* * *
The simplest formula to humiliate the parents of children who require dental checks of the National Oral Health aimed at children and young people.

Thursday, 27 January 2011

419. Which way forward for the Order of Dentists?

Portugal remains in the XXI century, without defining a strategic policy in the context of oral health. Governments continue to simply ignore the importance of oral health for the well-being of people and many hundreds of thousands of children and young people remain without any prospect of having access to oral health consultations in good time. Our country continues to discriminate against the citizens' access to oral health care, violating any principles of human dignity, not respecting international conventions it has signed, including the Charter of the Rights of the Child.
Currently, Portugal, oral health is only accessible to the privileged social classes, including the bourgeoisie, allied to political power and economic force, the overwhelming majority of the working class, pensioners, retirees and dependents are manifestly unable to gain access to oral health by SNS (National Health Service), which offers no answers to the needs of the population.
We all know that there is lack of economic resources, the problem lies solely in the bad government we have today, heavy and overly bureaucratic and administrative, stealing billions of euros annually from our taxes to support jobs that simply do not produce anything for the country, all this money should revert to the pressing needs of the population and the state should dramatically reduce many cabinets full of unproductive people who are useless to a country that wants to be modern and developed, persists while the current model of public administration.
It's completely false the idea that it is extremely costly to create a national network of oral health care in all health centers in the country, this mercantilist conception of health has no pertinence, because health can not be bought or sold. We all know that oral health prevention can save a fortune endless financial resources in the medium and long term, so that any investment made today will quickly be amortized in the future, augmented by huge gains in health improvement.
In this regard, the crucial position of the Order of Dentists; it should have to choose between the option of continuing to let everything be as it is or if you really want to contribute towards radically changing the policies followed by oral health in Portugal.
The choice is simple: to continue being a country where only the privileged have access to oral health, given that only have the private profit interests and see oral health as a business (doing nothing to prevent and combat oral diseases In order to guarantee themselves a niche market in the medium and long term, constituting an obstacle to any improvement in overall oral health of its population and behaving as in most third world countries, where economic interests overlap social interests), or changes its direction and understand oral health as well as an essentially social (not economic), elementary and fundamental to all people, fighting for full integration of oral health in the SNS (National Health Service) and the universality of access to all citizens, without discrimination on the basis of their economic possibilities and striving for a clear and manifest soon prevention of childhood.
Is the Order of Dentists to match the requirements of civil society and population, not to be swayed by the interests of the political regime installed and the economic groups, the first only interested in hunting to vote and to be perpetuated in power and only the second win in money in return for public health?

418. Involution of oral health in the National Health Service

Oral Health is arguably a decisive element in the general welfare of the people and the attitude of compartmentalization, which involves a view of the mouth in the non-holistic or integrated, is the cause of negative and sometimes permanent changes in the overall health of individuals, thus In their quality of life.
Oral diseases are the most common chronic diseases. Moreover the current Portuguese Constitution states:
Article 64. º Health
1. Everyone has the right to health protection and the duty to defend and promote.
2. The right to health protection is achieved:
a) through a national health service and general and universal, taking into account the economic and social conditions of citizens require;
b) the creation of economic, social, cultural and environmental conditions that guarantee, inter alia, the protection of children, youth and old age, and the systematic improvement of living conditions and working as well as the promotion of physical culture and sports in schools and popular, and for the development of health education for the people and practices of healthy living.
3. To ensure the right to health protection, primary duty to the State:
a) ensure access for all citizens, regardless of their economic circumstances, care of preventive medicine, curative and rehabilitative;
b) ensure a rational and efficient coverage of the whole country in human resources and health facilities;
c) to guide its work for the socialization of the costs of medical care and medicines;
d) to regulate and supervise the business and private forms of medicine, linking them to the national health service, to ensure, in the institutions of public and private health, adequate standards of efficiency and quality;
e) to regulate and control the production, distribution, sale and use of chemical, biological and pharmaceutical products and other methods of treatment and diagnosis;
f) establish policies for preventing and treating drug addiction.
4. The national health service is decentralized and participatory management.
Thus, regardless of what the Constitution calls for the country as we saw in relation to other areas of Health, the State generally better or worse, has been met, but now with regard to the area of oral health, may said that there was a regression in relation to what existed before April 25, 1974. To date, the New State contained in the ranks of the former Provident Fund offices of Dental Medicine, where they were practiced at least some basic treatments.
But after April 25, although in the new Health Centres then created, some of them want United States aid, both from Sweden and Norway, contained offices of Dental Medicine, which gradually came to be dismantled, not giving the opportunity to new dentists in abundance that started coming out of colleges, would eventually be integrated into the SNS, just like the other clinical areas of health, to provide functionality to such offices, providing access to oral health care to the general Portuguese population, which is the same as bald as the fundamental law of the country so determines.
Knowing the state Oral Health of individuals produces significant effects on their quality of life and that some aspects of oral pathology has implications:
Not only Physics,
- How Psychic,
- And turn Social.
Consider:
a) Some studies have shown that a child affected by caries at 3 years of age have on average less than one kilogram of a child without caries;
b) The occurrence of infection and pain can change their eating habits and sleep disturbances (irritability);
c) The estimated number of hours lost from school for reasons related to oral health is 117 000 per 100,000 children;
d) These impacts daily activities are not limited to the individual, also end up affecting your family;
e) Thus also the society in general.
We also know that the whole cascade of problems associated with oral diseases are not limited to younger age groups may be even more significant in the elderly, who experience rates of edentulism (missing teeth), which ranges from 30 to 70% as communities, treatment practices and the availability of rehabilitation (technical and budget). It will be noted that the dietary choices of elderly individuals are often compromised and thus may cause significant nutritional deficits.
One of the aims of the Primary Health Care is the reduction of social inequalities among individuals, especially in relation to health, will therefore be necessary to increase the attention on Oral Health Care, for accessibility to such care can translate into valid results and staff for the General Health of individuals. However, the lack of Oral Health Professionals (Doctors and dentists Dentist) in the overwhelming majority of the Portuguese Health Centres and the limitations of Oral Hygienists in the treatment of some diseases of the oral cavity have led to one of the lowest rates of dental treatment Europe, a fact perfectly compatible with policies for the budgeting of the Portuguese Ministry of Health Oral Health of 0.0035% of the total budget.
In contrast to the previously mentioned:
- Some studies have classified as oral treatments rooms most expensive of all treatments;
- Many developed countries spend between 50-10% of its budget for Public Health Oral Health. As examples, in some Spanish provinces, the rate of oral treatment in children and adolescents over 80%.
In our country, by order No. 153/2005, 5 January, which set the objectives of the National Oral Health Promotion (PNPSO) reducing the incidence and prevalence of oral diseases in children and young people, improving the skills and behavior about oral health and promoting equity in the provision of oral health care to children and youth with special health needs, was underway by 2007, a School Oral Health Program, in which dentists or dentists, received per patient € 75, they had many or few treatments to do, ie, the state appealed, and appeals to the excess supply / demand and a competitive way, to make oral health, on top of the current agreement with OMD (the Medical dentists), which I think is not the correct path, as many times as it takes into disrepute by encouraging the neglect and poor professionalism on the part of many professionals who get caught in the flurry of others that go every year for a multitude of Colleges (7), given the present needs of the country, without regulatory frameworks in fact, whether existing medical associations, unions, or more recently the Regulators, are forced to participate in these campaigns opportunistic Ministry of Health, the Conventions and even the insurance companies, each with its own rules and tables obsolete and limiting, in a true chaos of service offerings and economicíssimo maladjusted to reality.
More recently, from 2008, with the order No. .4324/2008, 19 February, was given the extension of the PNPSO two other groups deemed particularly vulnerable (pregnant women and elderly people in need) and developing an intervention strategy oriented to the provision of oral health care to a much larger number of children and youth. So PNPSO, now covers:
1 - Pregnant women followed in the SNS - Sum of assigned dental checks (maximum 3) can not exceed 120 € (the execution of the treatments can be completed within 60 days after delivery);
2 - Beneficiaries of the solidarity supplement for older users of the SNS - Sum of assigned dental checks (maximum 2) may not exceed 80 € per year;
3 - Children and Youth under the age of 16 years - Sum of assigned dental checks (maximum 2) may not exceed 80 € per year.
For the purposes of Removable Prosthodontics, there is a financial contribution to 75% of expenditure for the purchase and repair of removable dentures for up to € 250 per period of 3 years.
Conclusion:
From everything stated above and given the disclosure of data to check the current OMD, the Sun newspaper on 13/11/2009, the number of users of the SNS has benefited from 305,382 to date, so here is concludes that although the Portuguese population is of a few million (Portugal, including Azores and Madeira an estimated population of 10,529,255 people - INE estimate of the December 31, 2004, representing a population density of 114 persons per square kilometer ) the number of users above treated under the SNS National Programme for the Promotion of Oral Health (PNPSO) is negligible if not ridiculous, and this program does not comply with what is recommended in the fundamental law of the country, since the point of view of oral health, citizens are being treated in a preventive, curative and rehabilitative, equally universal and tend to free.
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SNS - National Health Service in Portugal

Thursday, 20 January 2011

417. Audit says dental checks discriminate patients in defiance of the law

Were announced in 2007 as the first step in providing the population oral health care - so far lacking in National Health Service but the Court of Auditors (CT) believes that dental checks issued by the previous Socialist government for children, youth , pregnant and elderly low-income violate the principles of universal and equitable access to health care.
The audit now published on the National Oral Health states that were not covered all children and young people of school children from three to 16 years, nor those attending public schools, with no explicit legal basis. And he makes the recommendation to Health Minister Ana Jorge, to ensure the legality, extending this service to all users.
Between 2006 and 2008 - the year the program was done under contracts with dental practices - the TC indicates that 95% of the school population has not benefited from the program, which shows a lack of efficiency and universality. Until they were provided 15 million and were used only 11.7 million euros.
This is just one of several repairs left by CT. The audit says the funding is not clear nor transparent (because it is divided by three institutions) and stresses that only two Regional Health Administrations have programs for quality assessment. The audit concludes that even in the face of not conducting periodic inspection or verification of establishments and clinical audits of care provided, there are risks associated with passenger safety and confirmation of care paid by check.
The TC raises doubts about the price paid for each treatment - which was negotiated with the Order of Dentists, but not based on any study - and makes a broad set of recommendations. From the choice of healthy foods in schools with measures that discourage the free sale and products harmful to oral health in the vicinity.
On the issue of universality, the Ministry responded to the progressive nature of the program, taking into account the existing budget, and the choice of a population more vulnerable to kick-start initiative. As the proposed measures for schools, states, several contradictory points outside the competences of that Ministry.
Rute Araújo
iOnline
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Truly disturbing the findings of the Court of Auditors, in addition to any irregularities and disregard for the equal treatment of all citizens (even worse when done by the state), is deeply regrettable that the program annually reaches only one in every twenty children.
Translating in other words, this oral health program implemented by the governments of the Socialist Party will not reach all children within 20 years, that if anyone born in Portugal in two decades, and assuming that some of the existing children have access to the program since then having completed 30 years of age.

Sunday, 16 January 2011

416. Institutional advertising: 'Always Smiling' costs 385 000 €

The Directorate General of Health (DGS) spent 384,933 euros on the campaign 'Always Smiling'. The 11 contracts, which include production of a video and pay television advertising time to, were all made on the basis of direct negotiations, ie without recourse to contest. The acquisition of the design services of an advertising spot, alluding to good oral hygiene practices within the National Programme for the Promotion of Oral Health, was hired for Utopia Filmes and cost the coffers of DGS 35 892 euros.
By issuance of this branding campaign in May, the DGS has paid 29,098 euros to RTP, 37,326 euros to SIC, 53,604 euros to TVI and 9144 euros to ZON - SIC Notícias. In September, the video where kids talk about their dental checks, again appeared on several television channels. By this time, the DGS has paid over 49,524 euros to RTP, 54 539 euros to SIC and 58 581 euros to TVI. The lead time on all contracts was 21 days.
Beyond the advertisement was still contracted to the company Look Concepts creative design services for brochures, on three occasions. In total 57 260 euros was paid for about one million of tryptic informative.
On day 12 the Portuguese Court of Auditors criticized the funding model of the Oral Health Programme, which in his opinion has not been structured in a transparent manner.
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This action disclosure of a program already fallen into disrepute and contrary to the principle of equity in the provision of oral health care is absolutely disgraceful and unacceptable in any civilized country. How can the Directorate General of Health sizes promote waste resources by allocating funds to RTP is a public company, already supported by public funds or private media?
This is purely criminal acts by withdrawing funds that were to be fully spent on medical care, severely hindering so unspeakable, the scarce resources allocated for oral health in the National Health Service (SNS) to the overwhelming majority of its population.
Instead of investing for example by granting funds to schools and giving an oral health card to each child and teenager in the country, the Directorate General of Health, with the connivance of the Ministry of Health and the passive role of the Order of Dentists, proclaims a discredited program of oral health in jeopardy by the Court Portuguese, filling the pockets of money to some media colluded with the current political regime and robbing the expectation of access to oral health of many hundreds of thousands of children and adolescents country.

415. Statistic 2009


Thursday, 13 January 2011

414. SPAIN: Examples of investment in oral health

The Dentibús reached Albacete, offering free dental checkups for the entire population - Closer to the population, educate and raise awareness about the oral care and prevention of oral diseases. This is the objective pursued by another year the coach of oral health in the Plaza del Altozano of Albacete, a project organized by the Official Board of Dentistry and Stomatology in collaboration with College of Dentists of Albacete.
This bus will serve as the roving dental office. Since last Monday, the team of dentists that is Dentibús makes revisions to all free people who come to the square of Altozano. The dental bus will remain parked until next Wednesday and will move through the municipalities of the province to reach as many people as possible will Hellín Thursday and Friday at La Roda. The bus is equipped with the materials needed for screening and diagnosis of various oral health problems facing the population.
Dental experts offer information to the general public about preventing common oral diseases. This project is part of a national campaign for oral health disease prevention, this time the bus has traveled throughout the Levant and this stage ends with a visit to Albacete.
Dentibús coordinator in our province, María Rosa López, says that in just one day can get to meet about 75 people, exceeding a hundred in the weekend periods. The revisions are designed to perform all the general population, while according to the dental team working on this project pays particular attention to correcting the habits acquired by children as well as to educate on the need for good hygiene daily. Gonzalo Hidalgo, Albacete Dentibús dentist explains that primarily serve prosthetic problems, periodontal and common conditions such as cavities.
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Spanish dentists and dentists give the Mayor of Murcia Award - Mayor, Miguel Ángel Cámara, you will receive prize tonight Oral Health Promotion, which has been granted by the General Council of Colleges of Dentistry and Stomatology of Spain. The event, held in Madrid, will be attended by some 200 people and is chaired by the prime minister, Manuel Alfonso Villa Vigil, and will also be attended by the President of the College of Dentistry and Stomatology of Murcia, Oscar Castro.
The oral health program for children and the agreement for preferential treatment for older people with limited resources launched by the city of Murcia are two programs that have received the recognition of Spanish dentists. For over 15 years and through the School Health Program, children 6 to 12 years the town go to the municipal offices of Beautiful Plaza to make their revisions and fluoride application, and are referred to appropriate services when they require other care. More recently, in 2005, launched another program to offer a preferred oral care to the elderly, through the municipal social services. Through this initiative, pensioners who need prostheses, can use this service if their cost exceeds the benefit provided free health care system.
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Problems are always resolved when there is a will. Shall apply in Spain are good examples in the prevention of oral health and local political leaders are aware.
In Portugal still had much to do in the area of prevention, both for oral health professionals but also by the mayors and central government.
It is urgent that we can all give our best so that we can radically change the face and dramatic and tragic current landscape of the oral health of its population.

Monday, 10 January 2011

413. President of the Dental Association wants to negotiate with SNS table contributions to road users in private

The re-elected today president of the College of Dental Association (OMD), Orlando Monteiro da Silva, has promised to negotiate with government reimbursement for a table that users of the National Health Service (SNS) may resort to private dental clinics.
In comments to Lusa news agency, Orlando Monteiro da Silva found that the National Health Service (SNS) has not been able to meet the needs of oral health among the Portuguese and he defended the need to create a system of reimbursement of medical acts by the state along the private.
We are interested in negotiating a schedule of repayments of some acts of dentistry on the SNS in private clinics, he said.
EPA
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Oral Health gives congratulations to the reelection of Orlando Monteiro and wishes him a highly skilful work during his mandate at the helm of the Order of Dentists.
The coming years will be of immense work in the area of oral health in our country; oral health can not continue to be marginalized by the SNS and is only available to the privileged and ruling classes, accomplices of the state apparatus and party installed in power in Portugal.
Is an urgent need to extend access to oral health care to all portuguese, without any discrimination on grounds of social class or income, because, after all, we are all Portuguese, who pay the taxes for the training of dentists.

Wednesday, 5 January 2011

412. Saturday dentists choose new president

About 6500 dentists choose a new president Saturday after a campaign marked by the difference in positions in relation to dentist-check, but with common features such as integration of these professionals in public services.
Orlando Monteiro da Silva, now president of the College of Dental Association (OMD) and a candidate for a fourth term, it is proposed to continue the important issues that are under negotiation with the Government. In comments to Lusa news agency, Orlando Monteiro da Silva stated that it is negotiating the extension of the dentist-check program, the negotiation of the reimbursement mechanism for consultations and the inclusion of dentistry in occupational medicine and dentists in hospitals and health centers.
The rival candidate, Fernando Guerra, told Lusa that the B List advocates measures that make a difference: We are key points to check the re-integration of dentistry and dentists, the amount of any national program of oral health. We also present a set of proposals that tend to balance dentistry and this involves the integration of dental practitioners in school health teams, the creation of a national emergency in the delivery of oral health and a health bulletin to newborns and all children in kindergartens, kindergarten and elementary education, explained Fernando Guerra.
Orlando Monteiro da Silva has already said he has two major concerns for this mandate: the integration of young people and dentists in order to enter the dental societies. The candidate noted that the last three years have passed from 5300 to about 7200 dentists, whereas it is necessary to sensitize public opinion and colleges to tailor the number of graduates every year out of college to real needs. Many young doctors are forced to emigrate because they have no place in Portugal, he stressed.
This is also a concern of Fernando Guerra, whereas there is a high number of entries in the courses of dentistry. There is a surplus of professionals and it is essential that OMD has replied to this by creating measures such as the creation of new specialties, defended Lusa. Fernando Guerra to be held a joint work with institutions of higher learning to be possible to reduce the number of entries and increase the places graduate of giving access to expertise that can and must create order.
Another proposal involves the List A registration in the register, without charge, the dental societies. We think this is an additional formula to have an increased control over what goes on in these societies, many of which require mainly young dentists the less dignified conditions in terms of professional practice, justified.
For the candidate list B is a set of measures necessary for the maintenance and viability of clinics and medical offices. We present concrete proposals to ease the problems of dentists and this has been the motto of our campaign, marking where the difference in the positions that the Dental Association has taken and with which we do not identify stressed Fernando Guerra.

411. Non-Governmental Organization - World Smiling


Mundo a Sorrir(http://www.mundoasorrir.org/)* * *
The NGO - Mundo a Sorrir (the World Smiling) comes in July 2005 to work in the health field, particularly in the area of Oral Health, with the main objective of causing the welfare of poor communities, excluded and marginalized. Taking the information and basic care for Oral Health to become a universal right and accessible to all individuals regardless of their economic position, cultural and social.
The World's Smiling, aims to be an organization that provides effective support and practical action and that their help is really felt close to the communities who most feel the wants and needs. Through specific projects and supported the NGO - the World Smiling, intends to set an example that can help improve the outlook for Oral Health in Portugal and the World.
Disclose, collate and exemplify what can be done differently to do better.

Sunday, 2 January 2011

410. Check-dentist dominates campaign to Order

The dental checks threaten to dominate the struggle for leadership of the Order of Dentists. The current president calls the measure tooth and nail, but the opposition accused it of undermining the professional dignity.
Elections are scheduled for next December 12, but the debate has already begun to heat up a few weeks ago. Apart from proposals for each of the lists - which match up some points - he settled the controversy surrounding the National Program of Oral Health and especially the dental checks.
Instituted by the Ministry of Health for eight months, dental checks offer basic dental care for children, elderly and pregnant women in private clinics that adhere to the initiative and receive, for each query, the fixed value of 40 euros. Driven by the current president and candidate for reelection Orlando Monteiro da Silva, the program violates the dignity of the profession guarantees the opponent Fernando Guerra.
The candidate list B denounces a way, a model and an inconceivable period of operation, which does not contribute to the defense of the oral health of the population covered. With the amounts involved, there are treatments that are needed from outside, ensures Fernando Guerra, who argues that the check-dentist should not have a predefined value. There should be a different table for each treatment, he says, advocating for change of name of the measure for reimbursement of medical and dental instrument.
Fernando Guerra also accuses the current management of the OMD to go along with political power, to have been a major driver for the dissemination of dental checks. A measure that guarantees against the dignity of professionals, playing with surplus manpower in the market and reveals late payments at around five months. For the candidate, the Dental Association (OMD) has to be upstream of these programs, draw them and not limited to collude with them.
Orlando Monteiro da Silva, the list ahead of the elections, rejects the accusations of the opposition. The proposed overhaul of the program presented by the list B would equal the end of dental checks, ensures the current president. Why go back to the logic of a public health program: we must distinguish between the liberal practice of the profession and adherence to a voluntary program with agreed rules and they have to meet.
List A denies five months late in payments to dentists who have joined. There are delays, up to three months in some cases, but many of them stem from errors in billing for the professionals themselves. As for the treatments, Orlando Monteiro da Silva recalled that it was a social program, which involves the provision of basic treatments, as elected by a scientific priorities. It is not collude with power, guarantees, since it also criticizes what's wrong. And the facts belie the claims: there are over 3200 medical associates, nearly 350 000 people and covered 43 million euros allocated to the program.

Wednesday, 29 December 2010

409. Oral health affects reasoning ability

A study conducted at Columbia University states that good oral hygiene can help adults maintain healthy reasoning. According to an article published in the latest edition of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, people over 60 years with gum disease have more difficulty remembering a sequence of three words after a while. Furthermore, they are twice as likely not to move in tests with calculations subtracting three-digit numbers.
Researchers have resorted to more than 2300 men and women to examine their oral health to see your reasoning. Overall, 5.7 percent of adults had trouble completing some tests of memory and 6.5 percent did not complete the tests of subtraction.
Participants with higher levels of bacteria had the worst results in these tests. Among other risk factors for loss of mental function, researchers highlighted the inflammation caused in whole body because of poor oral health. Other investigations have linked this issue with other diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer's.

408. Orlando Monteiro da Silva X Fernado Guerra

These interviews were taken from the Oral Health website, this blog has the same name but the site is completely independent of the same name and only coincide by chance.
For the elections to the Dean of the Dental Association, the Oral Health Blog is completely independent and equidistant to the two candidates, so that in case of detection of any breach of this policy of independence, thanks to instant communication via email to tempogero@gmail.com
Finally, gratitude is the publication of Oral Health interviews to the site to which you want sincere congratulations and your continued service for oral health in Portugal.
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Defender of the Order of Dentists' independent and free of other interests than those directly related to the exercise of the profession, the candidate for leader of over seven thousand dentists registered with the association believes the future of oral health in Portugal is by creating public-private partnerships that enhance the structures already built at the same time as providing care to the population within the National Health Service
Oral Health - How did the challenge to reapply the president of the OMD?
Orlando Monteiro da Silva -Came after reflection and after receiving support from a huge range of people who gave me a kind of blank check and that, though I know it is not always easy, given the guy on the site of application. The group of supporters already gathers more than 750 people who felt a call to one who stars in the project application. I felt that call with a great deal of freedom and responsibility at the same time, because there was also a very strong movement on the part of young dentists. These were what convinced me to proceed with the same decision, not wanting to put in here because the support nor the reputation of anyone.
Oral Health - However, there is also a growing problem of excess dentists in Portugal. What measures proposed to resolve this issue?
Orlando Monteiro da Silva - I am not a president or cabinet operetta and regular contact with professionals in the field. I realized how well the expectations that were deposited in me by these young newcomers to the profession and understand that there is clearly a surplus of dentists in our country, with many to go abroad to work. I'm not mincing words about it: it's a shame that this potential is being lost and skilled people. Furthermore, it is a shame for the country so that you lose the investment made in training these professionals.
I think actually the youngest are struggling to assert itself in Portugal and that there must be a great representative and are listened to their problems, as has happened on the site, with questionnaires, selecting focus groups and trying to make their bids to obtain appropriate response by the OMD.
What I want to emphasize is that this application is a new project that promotes new ideas for the next three years, and obviously we will pay attention to the problems of this fringe of the profession that has supported us so much. I also think we should adapt the training of dentists to country needs and propose concrete measures in this regard, because colleges live in student numbers since it depends for its funding.
Oral Health - Do not see then welcome the opening of a College of Dental Medicine announced for Lisbon?
Orlando Monteiro da Silva - I know there are instincts in this direction that the Order has not stemmed the privileged dialogue it has with the Government - not only with this, but with any government - the result of the prestige it has acquired over the years. I believe that in many cases is more important is what stops people do than what you do. We are committed to the attitude toward the opening of new faculties and remains until it reduces the number of students in dentistry, because we believe would improve the quality of education.
In addition, heralded a greater stake in postgraduate teaching and there is an unpaid volunteer internship, in terms of courses of Bologna, colleges, hospitals, health centers and private clinics, which gives young dentists ease of entry labor market and an experience that increased contact with the profession.
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With the motto An Order for All, the list B is assumed confident of victory. Of the ten lines of force by which it will govern, there is a proposal to create a permanent service dental care, provided by clinics and private hospitals with emergency rooms 24 hours a day and create a bulletin distributed Oral Health at birth. Fernando Guerra also accuses the current management of OMD have assumed an attitude of subservience to the various powers in place and promises to reshape dental checks whose current model considers a counter-intuitive, since no benefit in the long term.
Oral Health - What prompted your application the president of the OMD?
Fernando Guerra - It was believing it was time to renew and revitalize Order. We think the life experience that we have prepared us for this challenge and managed to mobilize a number of colleagues who are a team with the necessary experience and expertise at all levels, to serve the OMD in the way that we understand more convenient. This revitalization is vital and necessary that these institutions have the ability to renew itself and to open doors to new ideas and energies.
Oral Health - Why the motto An Order for All?
Fernando Guerra - Translate much of what are our beliefs. We believe that the OMD must reorient itself to the professional issues, giving particular emphasis to the difficulties that dentists feel and our action, while the Order, will refocus attention on the institution's dentist. We are therefore convinced that there would be no better motto to reflect this desire.
The team consists of dentists who work daily in their practices and, therefore, we are aware of reality and the problems that persist. We want to change that and make our contribution to changing the way that has been followed.
Oral Health - I assume by your statements that there are changes that the OMD should be made to its operation. What changes they intend to introduce?
Fernando Guerra - As mentioned above, institutions should periodically re-energize. For this, we propose a different framework in order to address the problems through a refocusing on professional issues, also a large opening in the dentist's role in society and have the capacity to form the OMD as a true catalyst for a national integrated health and has an active participation of dentists.
By this we mean clearly the integration of dentists at all levels in this strategy of oral health. We have drawn up an action program that has many ideas. A set of measures that we present such a plan within that statement that we want to go through the integration of dentists in the team of School Health, immediately creating a different approach that has been advocated, which will include an integration in the health centers. We want to be dentists to establish the community level strategies, as well as best practices and also they can be the engines of an overhaul, which should be immediate and highly relevant, the dentist-check.
Oral Health - Therefore advocate the integration of the SNS dentist?
Fernando Guerra - Yes, we want is an integration at various levels. The integration of the SNS dentist is needed for an effective improvement of oral health in Portugal. We watched, year after year, the implementation of oral health programs that have no real consequence in this instance and that have been offending in a way to consider only the dentists as manpower caregiver, the cheapest possible and undermining their professional dignity. We are completely against this style of approach.
Rather, we intend that dentists are engines at the community level in implementing strategies for oral health and OMD should be a catalyst of this idea nationally.

Monday, 20 December 2010

407. Dental seasonal?

The current status of oral health in Portugal experienced a period of many difficulties and action taken by officials from the Ministry of Health, in joint initiatives with the Order of Dentists, remain inconclusive as to the measures to provide adequate care to the citizens.
Over the past seven years, doubled the number of people who abdicated to treat their teeth by economic difficulties. Do not just launch television campaigns or speak of million of budgeted funds (many do not run), finishing everything by not translate into real gains in health.
Patients and dentists can not be condemned to the dental check. It is an open urgnte immediate overhaul of the National Oral Health. The dentist-check measure has proved increasingly ineffective as the period and manner of operation are incompatible with good oral health of young people, pregnant women and elderly people who want to cover.
For young people in many parts of the country, checks were issued only in August and the end of its validity was given this October 31. Oral diseases are not seasonal.
On the other hand, the difference between the number of checks issued and used reflects the failure of the model. The same inefficiency has been demonstrated in late payments to professionals, with more than five months of waiting, which entails enormous difficulties for the viability of clinics and offices that joined the program. The Directorate General of Health, in agreement with the current direction of the Order stipulated guidelines of the National Oral Health which undermine the dignity of dentists and tend to frustrate the best practices in treating many cases of dental disease in groups target.
It is intended that the necessary dental treatment to an oral cavity are carried out within a predetermined fixed budget, not looking at various details and the number of medical and dental acts to perform, calling into question the professional ethics and the right to health. This affront to ethics and attitude offends either the patients or professionals.
The proposals for reform that are defended by the following aspects: the integration of dentists in the SNS (National Health Service), allowing coordinate the referral of patients and monitor the evolution of oral health care, the eradication of treatments at no cost, to prepare a paytable dignified and differentiated for the different medical and dental instruments, the penalty for late payments, simplification of administrative procedures, the permanent availability of the computer system for registration of patients, the change of name (check-dentist) for reimbursement of medical / dental instrument, the proper scientific monitoring program, and the universal freedom of access and the same termination.
Fernando Guerra, Professor, University of Coimbra and candidate for president of the College of Dentists

Thursday, 2 December 2010

405. MANGUALDE: Draft municipal oral health

The Board of Mangualde was the only city council in the district of Viseu and the first country that accepted the proposal of the Portuguese Association of Oral Health: a project on oral health over two years. The first phase of teeth cleaning, which focused on elementary and middle schools of the county, ended this week and is already considered the most successful experiments in this field. But the results are staggering: nearly 80% of children have teeth with cavities. The association is satisfied, but regrets the lack of interest from other municipalities.
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Someone you please tell if this program is still in business? What is the balance made by the Portuguese Association of Oral Health and the Municipality of Mangualde's work? We await an explanation.

404. Candidates for president of the College of Dentists

Presidential candidate Fernando Guerra defends reformulation of the dentist-check - The candidate for president of the College of Dental Association (OMD) Fernando Guerra defended today the immediate re-check the dentist, considering that the measure is ineffective in improving the oral health of citizens.
As dentist-check entered in the National Oral Health has proved increasingly ineffective, with a period and way of functioning inconceivable to the oral health of young people, pregnant women and elderly people who want to cover claims Fernando Guerra in a statement released today . According to the candidate list B for young people in many parts of the country checks were issued only in August and the closure of the treatment takes place this October 31.
Oral diseases are not seasonal, says the professor of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra. According to the candidate for president of the College of Dentists, the same inefficiency has been demonstrated in late payments to professionals, with more than five months of waiting, which entails enormous difficulties for the viability of clinics and offices that joined the program.
In defending the immediate re-check the dentist and the National Oral Health, Fernando Guerra also advocates a decisive stance in defense of the OMD patients and physicians, dentists and end with the attitude pactuante purely political interests. Patients and dentists can not be condemned to hold the check-dentist claims.
According to Fernando Guerra, the Directorate General of Health, agreed with the president of OMD still intends for the dental care needed in the oral cavity are carried out in a predetermined fixed amount, not looking at various details and the number of acts medical and dental running, calling into question the professional ethics and the right to health of citizens. On the other hand, this government election promise in extending the check-young dentist from 4 to 17 years and diabetes continues to not encourage adequate patient care and not to address the just reward of treatments that allow the recovery of dental specimens at risk , harming citizens.
Proposals for reform, the list B claims, among other measures, eradication treatments at no cost, to draw up a schedule of payments dignified and differentiated for the different medical and dental instruments, the penalty for late payment, the simplification of administrative procedures and adequate scientific monitoring program. Elections for the OMD are scheduled for December 12, competing also the current president, Orlando Monteiro da Silva.
On 12 September, the president of the Dental Association revealed that more than 90,000 dental checks were given to pregnant women and elderly people between May 2008 and August 31 this year.
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Candidate for president of OMD advocates extending dental checks to diabetic and HIV positive - The candidate for president of the College of Dental Association (OMD) Orlando Monteiro Silva Tuesday defended the extension of dental checks to diabetic and HIV positive, and adequacy of the number of graduates looking for the reality of the Portuguese market.
Unlike Fernando Guerra, another presidential candidate who advocated the immediate overhaul of the program of dental checks for considering the measure ineffective in improving the oral health of citizens, the candidate list A of the OMD to consider the measure included in the Program National Oral Health should be expanded. Pretending not to create shocks either change course or call into question what has been achieved, what is being negotiated with the Government, and that might be achieved is the extension of dental check-children from four to 18 years and other special population groups such as diabetics (about one million in Portugal) and those with HIV positive, sustained the Lusa news agency.
For the president, who reapply for the position, the proposal for immediate reform, proposed by List B, would result in the end the program with a huge disservice to the people and for the thousands of professionals who have acceded to it. Listing A presents major challenges for the class, including reducing the number of graduate training in dentistry that existing colleges are producing, advanced.
In recent years we have gone from about 5300 to 7100 dentists. This is inadequate to the demand that exists in Portugal, creates situations of underemployment and unemployment in the class, he advocated. This situation is leading professionals to seek employment elsewhere, there are even cases of dentists enrolled in job centers. We have 400 registered dentists to practice in England and several others to engage in other European countries, namely Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, etc., he stressed, considering this situation entirely inappropriate.
Orlando Silva Monteiro also defended the extension of the access to medicine, dentistry through a system of reimbursement of dental consultations in private to the users of the National Health Service (SNS in portuguese), which already exists in Madeira and the Azores. Most of its population has no access to dental care by the SNS, excluding dental checks, he stressed.
The inclusion of dentists in SNS hospitals, health centers and family health units in a career suited to their own profession is another proposal from List A, and the inclusion of dentistry in occupational medicine. It is unacceptable that dentistry is excluded from this area because about seven to ten percent of absenteeism from work is linked to oral health, he argued.

Thursday, 25 November 2010

403. Judgments of the Supreme Court

The Portal vLex allows consulting the various judgments of the Supreme Court Portuguese. Thus, if the player expresses strict necessity, can perform the activation of an account in vLex without any commitment for 3 days and consult various documents, including judgments within the dental profession.

Friday, 19 November 2010

402. Half of the Portuguese can not afford dentist

We estimate that about 50 percent of its population is unable to pay even a dental consultation in private. While there are no dentists in health centers or systems of licensing, people will be excluded from oral health, told a news agency Lusa the president of the College of Dentists, Orlando Monteiro da Silva.
The Dental Association has fought so that there are dentists in health centers and hospitals or portuguese in order to create systems with the private agreement. Orlando Monteiro da Silva cited a study by University of Liverpool, where Portugal is with 'the blackest scenario in Europe in oral health care. And it is largely the absence of tender by the National Health Service (Serviço Nacional de Saúde in Portuguese language) at the level of dentistry is also creating a surplus of these professionals in the country and the Order regrets the lack of manpower planning.
If the Portuguese population to have passed all access to oral health care, the dentists likely did not arrive, estimated Orlando Monteiro da Silva. But as this is not true, the Portuguese dentists are seeking other countries: We are exporting human resources for deficit countries such as England and the Netherlands, the Nordic countries because the profession is no longer attractive. Portugal and Poland are the countries that most contribute to oral health services NHS English, for example.
Estimates of the Order indicate that within three years, in 2010, a dentist for every 1,180 people in Portugal. By comparison, Spain has a professional for every 2,667 persons, one each for the Netherlands and the UK 2,118 people a per 2105 people. Projections of the number of dentists for the next years show a lack of control over-training of graduates. The result will inevitably increase unemployment and underemployment in the class, referred to the Dental Association.
In Portugal, only the autonomous regions have oral health systems to serve users of the SNS. In the Azores there are 19 dentists in the public health regional and Order provides that, in some years, the Azores are the best indicators of oral health. In the Autonomous Region of Madeira, there is an agreement between the regional health service and private, in the public system to partially reimburse the cost of users who use private dentists.
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How long will we continue to portuguese pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes to pay for the training of every dentist and then later those same dentists can not perform dental care to people who really need?
Awaiting response to this situation at least absurd and ridiculous for a member country of the European Union, the Ministry of Health has the kindness to give proper reply to the email on this blog.

401. Presented logo application to Iberian World

The logo of the organization of the Iberian Jobs World 2018/2022 was presented this Thursday at a press conference at the headquarters of the Portuguese Football Federation. The ceremony was attended by Gilberto Madail, president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), Angel Maria Villar, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and Eugénio Chorão, Managing Director of Euro RSCG Design & Architecture, a company that devised the image.
We tried to create a modern, contemporary and appealing to do a merger between the two countries - through their flags - through their passion for football unites them, said Eugene Whiner.
Madaíl already pointed out that this logo conveys desire to win two countries, two countries are intertwined, not only in football but also for its history, stressing that this was the symbol that more power could give this application.
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An example of the grotesque and perverse model of sustainable development that we want for the country. Since the overwhelming majority of the vital needs of access to health care, the ruling class does not look at ways to squander our resources on parties and events beyond the reach of the quiet citizen pays taxes and who will never get into a football stadium.
Seeing these megalomaniac projects we are facing an outrage and a disgrace to the suffering of those who need and can not have access to health care.

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

400. Inauguration of new government

Takes office today the second constitutional government of José Sócrates. The Minister Ana Jorge returns again to be sworn in office as Minister of Health.
The Oral Health welcomes the appointment of Ana Jorge to the position of Minister for Health and hopes that the new ministerial team to recognize the oral health of its population as a drama of urgent public health dealt with urgently.
Together with several industry associations and taking into account the pressing needs of the population in terms of oral health, we expect a greater openness to the dialogue in the search for consensus among all stakeholders, based on a new philosophy that is firstly to ensure access for all the Portuguese population to oral health care, banning discrimination definitely existing, giving a guarantee of perfect equality in access to oral health care.
Much remains to be done, starting necessarily for evaluating and reformulating existing oral health programs, which were unduly targeted excessively in terms of target audience, usually very limited in the treatments carried out and are essentially directed to the private sector. Recovery teams of school health is an aspect of great relevance, because it is within the schools that we should start a real battle for primary health care in terms of oral health.
In a developed country, is vital to ensure equity between public and private sectors, the state must invest in the area of oral health in such a way as to ensure an equal competition with the private sector of oral medicine, competing only for the citizens a choice between supply of Service National Health (S.N.S. in portuguese) and private. Is urgent to provide all health centers in the country with the prevalence of oral health, as they may initially entail higher financial costs but will have immediate positive impact on the health of its population, and a subsequent huge financial return for the state of the medium term.
Priority measure is the creation of Oral Health Newsletter for the entire population, including making it compulsory element immediately to children and young people in primary education and secondary education, as incredible as it seems no one understands that the most backward countries that our are already far more advanced in the area of child and adolescent oral health.

Sunday, 14 November 2010

399. Post devotes the younger about the importance of oral health

Good oral health of our teeth and is a major essential conditions to have good health throughout our lives. Unfortunately, many opportunistic diseases are emerging without us realizing it and then later will bring very serious health problems.
Having all your teeth healthy and clean is always a mouth so that not arise after other diseases. Therefore, it is often very important to note the status of all your teeth, if you notice any stains or any other problem with a tooth, immediately inform your parents and your family doctor.
Whatever problem you have with any tooth must be treated immediately, because the teeth are part of our body and also need to be careful because they will live with us throughout our life.
Have you ever felt any pain? Well, if one day you lose a tooth, you can start having a pain that will be permanent and will last for the rest of your life. There will be a physical pain as normal, but a psychological pain, very difficult to cure or even without any treatment; lose a tooth for the rest of life can have disastrous consequences for us and that will never be repaired.
Who has lost a tooth is constantly asking yourself what the reason was because of losing a tooth; in addition, the lack of a tooth in our mouth can soon bring other very serious health problems, many of them not visible such as spending.
In Portugal also, to give the necessary importance to oral health care. The Ministry of Health have almost no interest in the subject because it invents the false excuse that it is very expensive to put dentists in health centers to treat people. The Ministry of Education is sloppy and does screenings in schools to all children and young people to identify those in need of treatment of teeth. The dentists need someone to pay the costs that have to do with the treatments they need to do to all people. And not just view your friends with the right to all who need treatment and you being barred from the same treatments you have.
So, as in many other things of our everyday life, we must ourselves to fighting for what we need. You gotta be yourself to be brave and demand from all (parents, school, family doctor) that address any problem you find in your teeth, you alone you got the problem and only you is that you suffer with the problem. So do not be complicit with never any problem with your teeth and looking for help that you can handle - will not be easy but never give up and do not stop fighting for what is your right: access to oral health care. When you're an adult you will be rewarded by better health and you'll be much happier.
And never miss the daily wash your teeth and use dental floss daily too, will be rewarded by better health and live many more years.
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EXTRACT FROM THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
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Article No. 3 - 2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care necessary for their well-being.
Article No. 24 - 1. States Parties shall recognize for every child to enjoy the best possible health status and receive medical services and rehabilitation, 2. b) ensure that medical care and necessary health care to all children, emphasizing the development of primary health care; States Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is deprived of the right of access to such health services.
(Signed by Portugal on 26 January 1990 and approved for ratification by the Parliament Resolution No. 20/90 of 12 September.)
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Pass along this message to the young; since it's so unfortunate disdain expressed by official institutions, including the ministries of Education and Health to assume its responsibilities for overall oral health of children and youth in the country, we will inform them of this situation to which they gain awareness of the enormous atrocities currently in Portugal on equal access to health care, including access to care and treatment of oral health in childhood and adolescence.

Tuesday, 9 November 2010

398. Oral Health in Portugal and the world

In Portugal there are economic resources, human and material to provide a comprehensive response to the needs of oral health care of the entire population, lack only the political will to make the Ministry of Health to assume its responsibilities and incorporate oral health in all centers health and public hospitals in the country, in perfect equality with the private sector, giving the same opportunities for access to oral health care to all persons without discrimination of age, social or economic opportunities.
Over the past few years, the Oral Health has done an analysis of oral health policy followed in Portugal. Most readers of Oral Health are from Portugal and Brazil, but we also have many readers of Spanish-speaking countries and French.
To exchange experiences, ask the readers of Oral Health resident outside Portugal to write and tell how it handles oral health care in your countries. The Oral Health has every interest in disclosing the reality of oral health policies in the various countries of the world and compare with what is done in Portugal.
Join in and write, using the email tempogero@gmail.com ; can monitor the activity of oral health in social networks, reading and subscribing to Friendfeed, Twitter and Facebook or activate the Feedburner RSS on your computer to keep track of updates to Oral Health.
Participation by all is essential so that we can alert and aware public opinion and political leaders for the Portuguese need to envisage the oral health care as fundamental to the overall health of the entire population.

397. Half of the Portuguese can not afford dentist

About half of its population is unable to pay a visit to the dentist, which is detrimental to oral health and is leading dentists to seek other countries to practice. We estimate that about 50 percent of its population is unable to pay even a dental consultation in private. While there are no dentists in health centers or systems of licensing, people will be excluded from oral health, he told a news agency Lusa the president of the College of Dentists, Orlando Monteiro da Silva. The Order has fought so that there are dentists in health centers and hospitals or Portuguese in order to create systems with the private agreement.
Orlando Monteiro da Silva cited a study by University of Liverpool, where Portugal is the darkest scene in Europe in the oral health care. And it is largely the absence of tender by the National Health Service (SNS) at the level of dentistry is also creating a surplus of these professionals in the country and the Order regrets the lack of manpower planning.
If the Portuguese population to have passed all access to oral health care, the dentists likely did not arrive, estimated Orlando Monteiro da Silva. But as this is not true, the Portuguese dentists are seeking other countries: We are exporting human resources for deficit countries such as England and the Netherlands, the Nordic countries because the profession is no longer attractive. Portugal and Poland are the countries that most contribute to oral health services NHS English, for example.
Estimates of the Order indicate that within three years, in 2010, a dentist for every 1,180 residents in Portugal. By comparison, Spain has a professional for every 2,667 residents, the Netherlands will have a professional per 2,118 residents and the United Kingdom have a professional per 2,105 residents.
Projections of the number of dentists for the next years show a lack of control over-training of graduates. The result will inevitably increase unemployment and underemployment in the class, refer to the Order.
In Portugal, only the autonomous regions have oral health systems to serve users of the SNS. In the Azores there are 19 dentists in the public health regional and Order provides that, in some years, the Azores are the best indicators of oral health. In the autonomous region of Madeira is an agreement between the regional health service and private, in the public system to partially reimburse the cost of users who use private dentists.
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It is good that the future Minister of Health start by cleaning the house. Over the past four years have witnessed the birth and death of oral health programs, continuing always the same problem: all pay taxes to train dentists who are not placed after the service of those in need.
This aberrant situation can not continue to persist in a civilized country and must be condemned at all levels; oral health can no longer be treated by governments and industry organizations as a business.

Thursday, 4 November 2010

396. Dentists use overpriced schemes for Social Security

Most dentists with contracts with ADSE (the social security system for civil servants) resort to illegal stratagems to offset the obscene amounts paid to them for their services. The complaint is Jorge Crespo, dentist in Vila Real, which has its case in court and ensures that 90% of them resort to what the class is called compensation.
The president of the College of Dental Association (OMD), Orlando Monteiro da Silva, confirmed to JN, aware of some cases and can only, however, refer to the competent bodies of those they receive through official channels. And it ensures that the direction of ADSE know what happens, but only works in situations visible, as it has acknowledged in meetings with the OMD.
Regretting that there is lawlessness, Orlando Monteiro blames herself ADSE. Present us with moral payout tables, which are not updated since 1991, says, pointing to the example of the value agreed that dentists receive for a query: 4.99 euros paid by ADSE and 2.49 euros paid by the consumer, that when , according to a study by Catholic University, the average cost of a consultation without treatment is 34.50 euros. It's ridiculous, do not even pay for the materials, classifies the president of the OMD, stressing the fact that he questioned the quality, both in terms of materials used, whether the time spent. This enhances the illegalities.
The OMD have tried to renegotiate the values of the tables and offered up his disposal, in exchange for a free system of reimbursement in which the patient would pay all the doctor and dentist would then be reimbursed by ADSE. Besides enabling the choice of doctor would allow a control treatment that is done, the patient would pay only what it is actually done. We have received no response, even says the president of OMD.
The JN also failed, despite 15 days of trial, any comment from the Director General of ADSE. It would be unpopular with the conventions end before the civil service, because it would force people to advance the cash, it threatens to analyze the president of the OMD, ensuring that the situation extends to other branches of medicine.
Asked why dentists are conventions that maintain them are harmful, Orlando Monteiro points the finger to the saturation of the labor market. We have almost five thousand dentists in Portugal and seven colleges. It is an excessive number for the country. Equivalent to a dentist to less than 2500 people in a country that dentistry is entirely private and which, as such, 40% of the population has no access. The vast majority of staff are under 35 years, have been formed since 1995 and working in shared offices, 41% of salaried workers.
Already there are many situations that unemployment and underemployment, said the president of the OMD, is preferable to work to lose money. Without career in the National Health Service (SNS), who has agreed to work for conventions, that the price trough, complete Jorge Crespo.
And if no open positions ADSE conventions for over ten years (which means that many dentists working for the ADSE chips with other professionals, illegally), another source of employment is found in insurance contracts with oral health. Then advance the OMD, there is one of the acts that are done for free. It is accepted because they are always having customers who will and can bring other ...
The OMD also shows the effect on competition result to the scales of ADSE, an issue that has, besides putting in the European courts.
Orlando Monteiro summarizes the features as marshy. And he believes that the streamlining would be resolved with training and with the opening of the National Health Service dentistry. Whether in 143 fixed or mobile clinics that exist in the SNS or by conventions.
Concerns that hopes to give his account once again to the Ministry of Health during its annual conference that starts today in Europarque. Where to enjoy the presence of President of Regulatory Authority of Health.
Jorge Crespo's dentist in Vila Real and had a contract with ADSE to be target of a lawsuit, which claims to be innocent. He accuses former colleagues to use chips from the convention on his behalf. Disgusted, decided to tell how he compensates for the low value of the payment agreements (which represent an average of 50% of patients each dentist). Invoice to tooth extractions for children who have lost them, treatments that never existed or have been charged by another colleague, for example. A system facilitated by the bureaucracy, forcing filling out a form in triplicate, sends the patient away without giving him his part, avoiding the scrutiny of who was treated. Then he continues, the user, will be charged an amount for the rental of space, past the part on a statement on behalf of the clinic and not the practitioner. Jorge Crespo ensures that 90% of dentists rely on these payments. And that does not inspect ADSE.
November 18, 2004