Regional Disability Oral Care Centers to Be Established in Public Medical Institutions and Dental Clinics

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] It has become possible to establish regional dental care centers for disabled patients, which provide general dental services, not only in public health centers but also in other public healthcare institutions or dental clinics.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 26th that it has promulgated and will immediately enforce a partial amendment to the "Enforcement Rules of the Oral Health Act" reflecting this change.

Currently, there is one central center and 14 regional centers for dental care of disabled patients, but there were no regional centers responsible for primary oral health services. This was because the establishment of regional centers had been limited to public health centers, which lacked the facilities and personnel to provide dental care for the disabled.

With the expanded scope of institutions that can be entrusted with the establishment and operation of regional centers under this amendment, it is expected that an environment will be created where disabled individuals can more easily receive dental care services in their local communities.

Additionally, among the equipment standards for dental treatment rooms in public health center oral health centers, dental amalgam, a dental restorative material, will be replaced with resin, which patients prefer and which is more effective for tooth preservation. Also, the fluoride iontophoresis device, one of the fluoride application methods, has been removed from the equipment standards of oral health centers because the fluoride gel application method using trays has become popular due to its cost competitiveness and convenience, and the iontophoresis device is no longer used in the field.

Byun Hyo-soon, Director of the Oral Policy Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "This institutional improvement has strengthened the infrastructure foundation that allows disabled individuals to access dental services such as oral examinations and treatment of oral diseases within their communities. Based on this, we will prepare a model for the establishment and operation of regional dental care centers for the disabled this year, conduct pilot operations next year, and lay the groundwork for nationwide implementation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.