The Madrid Assembly has approved the Oral Health Law which includes a specific program for Child Dental Care for Madrid children between seven and 16 years old. Until now it only covered up to six years, but this new regulation will allow extending the age limit until adolescence.
The objective of this law is to guide public oral care towards prevention and fight against socioeconomic inequalities in health by giving public coverage to the oral diseases of children, people with special medical needs and patients with few resources.
What will free care cover?
The program will cover one free review per year, both in a public center and in a private one that will be arranged with the Community, as well as any oral emergency “as many times as needed.” Not only the diagnoses will be covered, but also treatments such as fillings, endodontics and extractions.
It will not cover orthodontics, nor aesthetic treatments, the extraction of healthy parts and implants of teeth, except for patients with cancer that affects the oral cavity and patients with congenital malformations.
In Babies and more 11 keys to take care of the mouths of the little onesThe law will take effect in January 2019, but the forecast is that the Child Care Plan start operating in January 2020, when it will incorporate all the children who turn seven that exercise.
Other autonomous communities have similar regulations such as the Basque Country, Navarra, Andalusia, Extremadura, Murcia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. A good initiative for others to take an example.
