The abandonment of social services due to high prices or lack of coverage for some treatments led more people to migrate to low-cost or free oral health, and this is beginning to be seen in the response capacity of these services. At the Faculty of Dentistry of the National University of Córdoba (UNC), the waiting list is already several weeks long in some specialties.
Currently, the university has a new dental hospital that was not officially inaugurated, but is successfully undergoing its first trial period since February. This new service is located in front of the old building of the Faculty of Dentistry, located next to the Argentina Pavilion, on Haya de la Torre Avenue.
Although a significant number of patients traditionally attend the faculty, which on some occasions exceeded a thousand per day, the authorities stressed that attendance at the new hospital increases month by month, even without it having been publicized. In February of this year, 390 patients attended per day; in March, 874, and in April they served a total of 1,058.
“Although we have low costs, what makes us proud is that people come more for the quality of service and attention. And that has been seen, for example, for a long time in postgraduate courses where high amounts are paid. Likewise, there are a number of patients who, despite having social work and being able to attend a private office, continue to choose us,” explained Guillermo De Leonardi, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry.
The new facility works through a differentiated tariff with prices that are between 30% to 50% cheaper than those we could find in a private service.
“The costs of the private part and ours cannot be compared because they are different realities, since they have more expenses, the difference is great, for example, with the costs of electricity or rent. We respond to a certain part of society that, for economic reasons, unfortunately, does not have social work and is in a critical situation. We have a social function,” De Leonardi remarked.
The authorities commented that the costs managed by the faculty are lower because its ultimate objective is to be a space related to teaching, learning and the training of future human resources.
The practices most frequently performed in the hospital are emergencies, endodontics, extractions and restorations. “The most demanded services are those that tend to be the most expensive in the private area. Interventions such as root canal treatment or prosthesis increased its flow,” explained Federico Busleimán, vice dean of the university.
The Faculty of Dentistry has approximately a total of 260 dental offices, including undergraduate and postgraduate clinical rooms and new hospital facilities. Likewise, patient attendance for students will be more in demand in the months of May, June, August and September.
How the new hospital works
The hospital is divided into three continuous facilities, although it functions comprehensively. The first is made up of a waiting room with offices and high-tech machinery; The second building is the postgraduate building, located next to the previous one, where different specialties are developed; and in the facility adjacent to this, the main sector of the hospital service is located, where initial consultations are carried out.
When a person arrives for the first time, they are attended to at reception and have their first consultation, where they are reviewed by professionals to find out what treatments they require and a digital medical history is taken. Subsequently, if required, she is attended to on the spot or is assigned a shift.
Despite its social work, the main objective of the space is the practical teaching of dentistry. “The dental hospital is run by teachers and assistant professionals for improvement purposes; that is, students and graduates of the faculty who continue to learn. These practices are highly supervised by the teacher; With each practitioner there is a professional guiding the work,” highlighted the dean of the faculty.
The hospital is currently in its first testing phase, so if an appointment is required, it must be requested in person. Likewise, they will soon have telephone service.
“I am from Tierra del Fuego and I do not have social work, I live in the center of the city. I found out about this new service because since September of last year I attended college. My experience was very good since the hospital opened, they treated me very well at the reception and the doctors; I recommend the place,” commented Dana, while she waited in the waiting room.
In the hospital, everything from the simplest to the most complex practices is carried out. They have care for all people and ages: babies, young people and older adults.
“I am from Córdoba capital and I come to attend here because it is the only possibility I have given the high costs that exist in private settings. The truth is that the professional and human quality of the dentists is very high, that’s why I keep coming back. I knew about the service in previous years because I attended college. Many acquaintances are unaware of the work that is done here and I have recommended it to them,” Andrea explained.
The hospital also works in conjunction with advanced students in the Dentistry degree, since some patients are also referred to those areas. This facilitates the search for people who require treatment, which is often a tedious task for the student.
Municipal dental service
The municipal dental system of the city of Córdoba is free and has a total of 135 chairs. Currently, only the municipal emergency service, which is open 24 hours a day, located at 5700 Colón Avenue, has a total of six chairs and serves 70 patients per day, from Monday to Friday; and on weekends, they treat approximately 150.
“They choose us, first, because practically no private dental service at this time is working with prepaid or social works. People often cannot access the private sector and turn to the municipal sector or, also, to the faculties, but there are those who also find it difficult to pay a differentiated fee,” explained Rodrigo Juárez, director of the municipal dental emergency service.
Likewise, Juárez stated that since December the number of patients with social work in municipal public care has increased. In this case, an attempt is made to recover expenses.
The municipal service covers all dental specialties in adults and children. Surgeries are performed at all levels, prosthetic services, diagnostic imaging, periodontics, among other practices.
“The treatments most requested today are dental fillings, which are caries repairs. The lack of access to these treatments in the private sector causes this disease to advance. If this is not treated, root canal treatment or tooth extraction follows, in case the patient cannot do this treatment,” Juárez warned.
The municipal dental service, located at 850 San Martín Street, has 22 chairs and also serves an average of 80 patients per day.
