Ulaanbaatar
‘Healthy Teeth-Healthy Children’ program to be implemented in soums
Society
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. According to a study, 87.3-96.2 percent
of children aged 5-6 years and more than 65.3 percent of children aged 12 and
over have caries in Mongolia. Therefore, in 2018, “Healthy Teeth-Healthy Child”
national program was launched nationwide. The program aims to increase the
quality and accessibility of children's dental care service, ensure financial
stability, expand inter-sectoral cooperation, and reduce the prevalence of
pediatric dental disease by 30 percent and caries by 4 points through the
introduction of international best practices.
To date, duplicated number of 128,651 have received a dental care
treatment and 27’504 children received root canal treatment, while 78,982
children received preventive and mineralizing treatments within the sphere of
the program.
Minister of Health T.Munkhsaikhan emphasized that the program now should target children in soums as children in the capital city and aimag centers involved ocmpletely. In this regard, the Minister received the representatives of private dental and maxillofacial hospitals to hold a discussion.
During the discussion, Minister of Health T.Munkhsaikhan said, “The prevalence rate of tooth decay and oral diseases is very high not only among children but also among the general population. It is important to note that the “Healthy Teeth-Healthy Children’’ program provides preventive examinations and treatment for children under 12 years of age. In order to implement this program at the national level, we need to focus on the children and the population of the soums. Currently, about 40 of the 330 soums have dental offices, and residents of the remaining soums come all the way to the aimag or the capital city for treatment and other related services. In addition, almost 98 percent of doctors in this field work in private hospitals. Therefore, we need your support and joint efforts to implement the program at the soum level.
Noting that the private hospitals have been giving treatments in recent years to vulnerable children and children from orphanages as part of their social responsibilities, Director of the Implant Hospital I.Baskhuu expressed that it is fully possible to cooperate with hospitals of the soums.
