Free dental care in Almeria province for children aged 6 to 15

NHS likely to lose nearly half of dentists, BDA, NHS

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Free dental care in Almeria province for children aged 6 to 15

When should children be taken to the dentist? What does the consultation cost me? Are there dentists specialising in children?

These are some of the questions parents ask themselves when this time comes. And many are unaware that they have the right to free assistance from dental professionals who are in their local health centres. Others are located in private clinics, but have an agreement with the Junta de Andalucia to treat patients.

The Ministry of Health has a totally free oral health program for children aged between 6 and 15. In the province of Almeria, a total of 80,642 children are entitled to this service. They have the right to receive basic dental care, but also certain special treatments through the Individual Health Card.

As explained by the Delegation of Health and Families of Almeria, “The assistance includes an annual review where information is provided on oral hygiene standards, diets, etc, with exploration and recognition of permanent dentition, and optional follow-up in the cases in which it is advised”.

“Always according to the criteria of each dentist, the following may be carried out: Sealing of fissures or pits in healthy permanent teeth, that will prevent the appearance of cavities; filling, when cavities already exist; more adequate treatment of pulp lesions”.

Plus, “Extraction of milk teeth; extraction of a permanent dental piece, provided that under the criteria of your family dentist you do not have another more conservative treatment; teeth cleaning, when calculus and/or extrinsic pigmentations are detected in permanent dentition”.

Care may also cover certain special treatments for trauma or malformation of the canine incisor teeth. Patients can freely choose their primary dentist from the list of specialists available each year. These can be consulted on the website: https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/temas/salud/infantil/bucodental.

You should take into account that during the month of December, only those belonging to the public sector can be chosen as family dentists. In the province of Almeria, there are 20 public health centres that have a dentist, and a total of 187 private clinics that have this service.

Six-year-olds are recommended to visit the dentist at least once a year, as children begin to change their milk teeth at this age. However, specialists insist that the correct age for the first visit to the dentist and orthodontist is from 6 months.

This allows a specialist to check their mouth and avoid future problems. Dental professionals assure that “a check-up should become a regular habit, thus avoiding anatomical alterations, and even respiratory problems”, as reported by diariodealmeria.es.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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