735. Madeira will allow a career in dentistry in the public health service

The Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (RAM) approved, in plenary, the creation of a career in dentistry in the national health service of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (SESARAM).

Miguel Pavão, President of the Order of Dentists (OMD), traveled to Funchal to attend what he considers to be “a historic day for dentistry in our country, as it is the first time that dentists are part of a public service they start to have a career, like other state employees. It is a milestone in our profession and the Autonomous Region of Madeira is the first to take this step”.

In the meeting with the regional secretary of Health, the chairman of the OMD thanked the commitment of the Regional Government, stressing that “today the RAM did justice to a gap in the National Health Service and the RAM provides an example that the integration of dentists is viable and is required. We hope that this is a starting point for the Autonomous Region of the Azores and the Continent to follow this example very soon”.

The Secretary of Health and Civil Protection, Pedro Ramos, highlighted the “important and historic moment” of this approval, which “reveals the pioneering spirit of the Regional Health Service and the respect of the Region for our professionals”.

Fabião Castro Silva, OMD representative in RAM, said “it is with great pride that I see Madeira taking this step, which is so significant for our profession. It is a step that completes the full integration of dentistry in SESARAM”.

The new career in dentistry will cover all dentists working in the health centers of Madeira and Porto Santo, and at the Dr. Nélio Mendonça Hospital, in Funchal. 

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734. More than two million dental checks remained unused in the last twelve years

Since the launch of the National Program for the Promotion of Oral Health, more than seven million dental checks have been issued, but only five million have been used, reports Jornal de Notícias. The Order of Dentists wants to reformulate the program and the Government will carry out an audit. The dental check usage rate is around 70%, but it has been falling for the past five years.

3.8 million users have already been assisted, especially children and young people up to 18 years of age, but also pregnant women in a total of 20 million treatments. The Government has planned an audit of the program later this year, which has not made any progress due to the pandemic. The Ministry of Health informs that the audit aims to confirm that all treatments paid for by the dental check were actually carried out.

The Order of Dentists argues that the audit should go further to understand if the investment made had an impact and produced results in the oral health of the population and if there were changes in behavior. Heard by JN, the President of the Order asks for a reformulation of the program that he considers to be poorly built from scratch. In statements to the TSF, the president of the Order of Dentists wants to understand what happened to the two million dentist checks that have not been used in the last 12 years. Miguel Pavão argues that an audit is needed to understand what happened.

Miguel Pavão argues that the audit is necessary, to understand if the investment made in the last 12 years had an impact on the oral health of the Portuguese. For the president, the program should bet more on prevention than on treatment and review values, since prices are not updated since the troika, when it went from 40 to 35 euros.

TSF