Analysis of the implementation of dental disease prevention programs in the pediatric dental service in several constituent entities of the Russian Federation

Abstract

Relevance. High dental disease incidence in children is still a relevant problem of public health care in Russia. Regional or national oral disease incidence rates may decrease via the introduction of state or Regional prevention programs. School dentistry is crucial in the pediatric dental care system. Different socio-economic, climatic and geographical conditions of various Regions of the Russian Federation affect the possibilities of preventive program implementation in the child population. Purpose – to evaluate the implementation of dental disease prevention programs in pediatric dental services in several constituent entities of the Russian Federation.Materials and methods. In 2020, employees of Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry visited the Regions of the Russian Federation 39 times within the implementation of the national project "Healthcare" and national medical centre activities. In these Regions, the study examined the following parameters: availability of a Regional dental disease prevention program, the functioning of dental offices in educational institutions, dental checkup coverage rate in children.Results. The study revealed that most Regions have school-based dental offices in the pediatric dental service. School-based dental offices provide treatment and prevention procedures. The analysis showed that all studied constituent entities carry out dental checkups. However, the dental checkup coverage rate in children varies greatly.Conclusions. A small number of Regions (23.07%) have approved and are implementing a Regional prevention program, several entities (20.51%) are validating similar programs. And the majority of the studied constituent entities (56.41%) don’t have Regional prevention programs.