Romania is in the last place in the European Union in terms of the state of oral health and in the penultimate place in the average annual number of dental consultations. The lack of education, but also the underfunding of basic dental services are among the reasons why we ended up in this situation.
3 out of 4 Romanian children have cavities – Photo Archive
The main challenges faced by the oral health system in Romania are the absence of a clear national policy in this field, the underfunding of basic dental services by the state, the poor education of the population regarding hygiene, risk factors and the importance of prevention, as well as the difficulties in collecting and analyzing relevant data that lead to a thorough analysis of systemic problems and the identification of comprehensive approaches for their management, informs a press release of the College of Dentists.
For his part, Alexandru Rafila, the Minister of Health emphasized the lack of coherent public policies in the field of oral health in Romania and showed that the absence of adequate education and information is the main cause of major dental problems in Romania, such as caries and periodontal diseases.
According to the data of the National Institute of Statistics, 63% of Romanians do not brush their teeth and only 17% of the population enter a dental office, for preventive purposes.
Worse is that 20% of Romanians have never brushed their teeth, according to another study.
Health education is the solution suggested by specialists, but data show that only 10% of students have this subject in their timetable.
Access to dental services is also limited, due to massive privatization in this sector, draws Alexandru Rafila's attention. Moreover, the amounts settled by CNAS for such services are relatively small, which discourages dentists from signing contracts with the state. Concretely, the activity of dental practices is financed by the public system in proportion to only 5%, compared to the OECD average, which is 31%.
Among the suggestions of the Minister of Health is the reopening of dental offices in schools and town halls, to facilitate access to oral hygiene services for those living in small and isolated communities.
Children also have problems with their teeth
An INSP research from 2022 highlighted that many Romanian children required curative or preventive treatment, and a significant proportion of them had not visited a dental office in the last year.
More precisely, a study carried out in 36 counties and in Bucharest shows that 75% of children with primary dentition and 51% of those with permanent dentition suffer from caries.
But not only treatment should be the only goal of dentists, but also prevention, says the representative of the European Federation of Competent Dental Authorities and Regulatory Authorities in Europe, Dr. Hrvoje Pezo. Dentists rely on a good prevention of dental diseases and want to ensure the medical act at very high quality standards based on clear regulations and that promote clear doctor-patient communication with an emphasis on the quality of services and not on their cost, added Dr. Hrvoje Pezo.
A large-scale pilot study, aimed at identifying the most important needs of Romanian patients and the systemic challenges they face, will be conducted by 172 dentists from the whole country, who will analyze in detail the patients' oral condition.
Until April 26, 62 doctors from the rural area will evaluate 20 patients each, while the 110 doctors from the urban area will evaluate 10 patients each. This extensive research will cover a diverse range of age categories, from children with temporary teeth to adults with permanent teeth, according to the Romanian College of Dentists.
