Scottish Government Launches New Dental Health Strategy
The Scottish government has launched a new oral health strategy, which will focus on priority groups, including the elderly, homeless people and patients with special needs.
Health Minister, Michael Matheson officially launched the strategy on Thursday while visiting a care home in Fife, which has been participating in a pilot project called the Fife Oral Health Award. The pilot scheme is designed to improve standards of oral health in nursing and residential homes. The new oral health strategy will build on the success of the pilot programme.
A survey revealed that around half of care home residents in Glasgow required dental care, with 73 percent of people suffering from tooth decay and around 33 percent requiring fillings or tooth extractions.
The new strategy is supported by an investment of £1.4 million per year for the next three years and will involve the creation of specialist Smile programmes, which aim to prevent and reduce oral diseases in priority groups. The existing Childsmile programme and new Smile programmes will be known collectively as Smile Scotland.
The strategy aims to improve standards of oral health by implanting a number of measures, including oral assessment for care home residents, fluoride varnish treatments, dentist referrals, staff training in oral healthcare and teeth cleaning.
Mr Matheson said that the new oral health strategy will ensure a consistent approach to oral health across Scotland.
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