Proposal to reorder dental health care in the national health system. The experience of Toledo’s “Unidad de Medicina y Cirugía Oral”

Abstract

The portfolio of services in Oral Health of the National Health System (SNS in Spanish) is very broad and includes different areas of assistance. The focus of the System managers has focused on improving dental health benefits for children. The relevance that Children´s Dental Assistance Programs (PADI, Planes de Atención Dental Infantil in Spanish) have been acquiring in the oral care of the SNS has led to the resources being directed towards the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of dental pathology in the child population. The structure in Unidades de Salud Bucodental focused on strictly dental pathology does not allow the development of all health services. There is a large number of services that within the oral benefits provided by Primary Care are diverted to other hospital services or that are not even provided. Different experiences have been developed in different autonomous Health Systems to improve these benefits. Since 2012, the Toledo Unidad de Medicina y Cirugía Oral has carried out actions that have managed to improve oral care for the population, thus improving their general health. This Unit allows resources to be allocated to those activities that require training and guidance in the more medical-surgical than dental service. We recommend the implementation of services of this type within Primary Services to improve the provision of oral health services.