Ural Federal University
A study by DECO PROteste shows that almost half of Portuguese people pay for the consultation out of their own pocket and only 2% use the SUS. New measure will give free consultations to people over 60 years of age.
In June 2024, DECO PROteste carried out a questionnaire on oral health to a sample of the population between 18 and 74 years old, with 849 valid responses. “The objective was to verify the access to dental care and its costs, as well as satisfaction with the dentist”, writes in .
According to , the article will be published in the December/January edition and is called “The Smile Has a Price”. The conclusion was that “The use of a dentist continues to be a luxury, reserved for those who can afford it.”
45% of Portuguese people say they pay for consultations out of their own pocket and only 2% use the SNS. Due to financial issues, 17% of respondents gave up on booking an appointment, which resulted, for a quarter of these people, in serious health consequences.
“Respondents with shorter family budgets are, of course, those who have the greatest difficulty in reaching the minimums: 52% do not go to the dentist and 39% never do so without pain or another tooth problem”, explains the article.
Even a fifth of Portuguese people who have a more stable financial situation do not follow the recommended regularity of appointments, and 7% never make routine appointments.
The SUS also has no impact on oral health: “If in 2018 only 6% of respondents got a place, now there were even fewer (2%)“, concludes the study.
“On behalf of consumers, DECO PROteste demands that the National Health Service (SNS) be provided with sufficient human resources to respond to the needs of the population. Furthermore: the Government must create the special dentistry career at SUSto value professionals and encourage their retention”, reads the website.
The platform also calls for the integration of dentistry into the structure of Local Health Units. “Funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) should allow the creation of new oral health offices in the NHS and contribute to equal access in the country”, writes DECO.
One of the measures announced this week by the government, however, meets this need for oral health care.
As news or, a free oral health measure is being created, included in municipal plans for active and healthy aging, and which can cover more than 500 thousand people: from now on, people over 60 who need this type of care will be able to receive free consultations at the dentist.
First, a diagnosis will be made of the oral health status of the population in this age group in each municipality.
The goal is after use dental checks do SNSwhich allow access to some free treatments, but which do not cover everything, and the rest of the treatment is then paid for by the municipality itself.
