Oral health, a priority in Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 8 (ACN) Oral health is one of the priorities of the Cuban health system, with medical assistance throughout the national territory, led by more than 16,000 stomatologists and 8,000 technicians.

Mariela Garcia Jordan, head of the Department of Stomatology of the Ministry of Public Health, told the Cuban News Agency that the National Program of Integral Stomatological Attention is committed to cure, rehabilitation and prevention of diseases through 1,229 services located in clinics, polyclinics and hospitals, so that children, young people and the population in general can keep a healthy smile.

She highlighted actions to promote dental hygiene in health care institutions and educational centers to foster good habits that contribute to favorable indicators and comprehensive strategies of detailed attention in the communities, such as clinics, labor entities, maternity homes, nursing homes and within them, with greater emphasis, in the neighborhoods undergoing social transformation in the Caribbean island, to improve the quality of life.

The early diagnosis of diseases such as pre-malignant lesions and cancer of the oral cavity is constantly monitored by dentists, as well as the surveillance of other ailments, along with the family doctor, such as caries, periodontopathies or gum inflammation, through field work and the application of the model of comprehensive general stomatology, he said.

Despite the tightening of the U.S. blockade and the limited availability of resources that threaten the sustainability of services, Garcia Jordan emphasized results of stomatological care evidenced in figures: 74 % of children between 5 and 6 years old have all their teeth healthy, the rate of decayed, lost and filled teeth at 12 years old is 1. 29 % and at the age of 18 years, 92% of the population keeps all their teeth in the mouth and the percentage of patients without gingival and periodontal affectation is higher than 71.

She insisted on the need to raise public awareness of the risk factors that can cause oral damage or disease, the benefits of daily care and the importance of hygiene at all ages.