Amir-Houshang Daqayeqi said PIHO’s policy was health-oriented, adding: “With the implementation of the oral hygiene plan, we will see oral health be upgraded while dental treatment costs would decline.”

He added that this plan had been put into operation in April 2016, involving annual screening of the population in every area, setting up a dental databank and defining an oral hygiene index.

Daqayeqi said the oral hygiene plan had been implemented for two periods in northeastern Iran, adding that its coverage had expanded in all centers. 

He added that the Ahvaz branch of PIHO was covered 70%, the Markazi and Lorestan provinces 90%, Tehran and Isfahan 50%, Fars Province 60%, Kermanshah 70% and Masjed Soleiman 90%.

He said a major plan under serious review in the current calendar year was oral hygiene indexing. 

“By measuring such indexes as decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) and community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN), we will realize the situation of the target population in terms of health in order to take preventive and treatment measures,” Daqayeqi said.

“In order to facilitate appointments for patients in the current calendar year we intend to use cyberspace and telephone further in order to reduce the waiting time for patients,” he added.

He said another plan under way by PIHO’s dentistry section was the exercise of quality control of services through opinion poll and software.

Daqayeqi said dentistry allowances had been increased by 20% for orthosis and prosthesis. “We recommend that all patients prioritize obligatory services in order to reduce dependence on wider treatments. For non-obligatory dentistry services (orthosis and prosthesis), the allowances would increase by 20% this year and this plan will take effect.”

Daqayeqi said that in the second half of last calendar year, in addition to the oral hygiene plan, more dental interventions were carried out in Fars, Hormuzgan, Isfahan, Markazi and Lorestan provinces. “The treatment needs of patients are recorded and by family dentistry plan follow-ups will be done for providing services.”

“If the entire population is examined once a year and treatment intervention is done, the need for non-obligatory treatments (implant services, orthosis and prosthesis) will decline over the following two years and this trend will be instrumental in reducing costs,” he said.

Daqayeqi said the public was satisfied with the periodical examinations conducted through family doctors for oral hygiene.

He added that some “frauds” had been committed indirectly in the health sector, which were identified. He noted that establishment of an oral databank would facilitate supervision on the prescriptions and allowances granted to orthosis and prosthesis.