695. Only in Portugal: One million dentist checks left unused

Nearly one-third (27%) of dentists' checks issued since 2008 were not used, according to data published Monday, March 20, by Jornal de Notícias. Of the 4.3 million vouchers launched in the last eight years under the National Program for Oral Health Promotion, there were 1.14 million that were eventually wasted.

Quoted by the newspaper, the president of the Order of Dentists, Orlando Monteiro da Silva, said that it is a shame that the checks are not harnessed to the maximum, stressing that the need exists, but does not always turn into demand. Dentist's checks can be used in private clinics or clinics, and there is no restriction on the area of residence of the user. Pregnant women, elderly people who receive the solidarity supplement and children and young people under the age of 16 are the main beneficiaries of this measure, which a year ago was extended to 18 years if they had already been users.
According to the data provided by the Dental Physicians Association, 69% of the beneficiaries during the past year were children and young people, while pregnant women accounted for 19% of the total of more than 544,000 dentists' checks issued in 2016.

Jornal de Negócios 

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The reality of the facts reveals the oral health policy of the governments in Portugal. By saving 1,140,000 checkers, governments in recent years have saved tens of millions of euros at the expense of oral health of Portuguese children and adolescents. An aberrant and atrocious crime that reflects the real interest of the government and the Directorate General of Health in effectively promoting true oral health for all children and adolescents in Portugal by subtracting more than one million checkers.

The question is simple: how many children and grandchildren of all ministers who have passed through the Ministry of Health and Education, Members of the Parliament or senior officials of the Directorate General of Health in the last ten years did not have access to health care oral? Children and young people without rights are the first to feel the contempt that governments have for oral health. If the rulers had any interest, all the dentist's checks would have been used; unfortunately this is not the interest of the government or the Directorate - General for Health.