Inequalities in access to dental care could well widen. This is the concern expressed by the Ufsbd after the elimination of the budget devoted to oral prevention in schools. Concretely, the children who can benefit from the MT’dents program which raises awareness in the classroom about dental health should increase from 250,000 to 20,000. Only children from the most disadvantaged areas will remain concerned by these health promotion actions, indicates the collective who say they are “shocked” by this budget reduction.
While 18% of French waive dental carefor lack of money, this measure may not improve access to healthcare for the most disadvantaged children. The oral prevention system MT’dents, set up by Health Insurance since 2007, was intended to raise awareness among young people who do not always go to dentists’ surgeries to the importance of dental maintenance. He favored “early contact with a dental surgeon, by establishing regular appointments at the ages most exposed to carious risk : 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 years old with support for an oral examination visit and 100% follow-up care”, recalls the Ufsbd.
These interventions in the school environment have borne fruit because the number of cavities per child has been divided by three since 1987, going from 4.2 to 1.2 for 12-year-old children. “Today, 63.4% of 6-year-old children are free of cavities and 56% of 12-year-olds”, underlines the association.
The collective hopes that the government will reconsider its position. “Children need oral health education not to leave school benches”.
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