Sunday 8 December 2013

Low-cost dental care

This article, which we have discussed in class, points to a major issue in dental care: expensive, unaffordable treatments as well as lack of highly-qualified professionals in many regions of the world.

Do you think we have similar problems in our country/regions of the country?

Watch the videoclip on Non-profit dental care providing.


What type of dental care is mentioned here? Menion one aspec that impressed you.
What kind of discount dental  care was/is available in Romania, for who, and where, why?


Read carefully the previous answers before you write your own since only new ideas will be published.
You can also refer to situations in different countries.



49 comments:

  1. In this video it is presented an event where volunteers offer free dental care for those who can't afford to go to a dental office.They offer various types of services such as extractions, fillings, cleaning teeth, dental education. I think it's not just a noble, but a useful initiative as well. One aspect that impressed me is that their goal is to treat 2,000 patients in two days which suggests how determined they are to help people in need. As far as I know there aren't any discounts in dental offices in Romania, however students of dental medicine can treat patients at the university for a lower price.

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  2. Well. It is admirable. i consider that 2.000 patients is not that much taking in consideration that there are about 1.000 volunteers. The number of volunteers impressed me much more, as a matter of fact. About the dental care, it is pretty much basics. I agree with Evelyn, you cannot find such organizations or dental practices, but I think almost every dentist does a pro bono once in a while. :)

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  3. I agree with Julia’s comment because it’s really a useful and unselfish initiation. I don’t know if in our country exists something similar. The dental care is free only for children in Romania (if the dentist has insurance). Adults with low income go to the dentist only if they have toothache and they choose inexpensive solutions for their problems like extraction. Regrettably they don’t have the possibility for prevention and expensive treatments and this is a big problem in our country.

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    1. As I watched this video and these comments I realized, that my colleagues said everything, which I would have liked to say. The only one thing is, that I'm sad, that in our country doesn't exist a similar programe like this.

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    2. Emilia, this video clip is just an example, you could find others and share info about them here, so that the others learn something useful.

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    3. Ok, I will accept your advice.

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  4. We can hear and read a lot about the importance of the social security. However sometimes we don't feel how serious is this problem. By watching this video we can realise how many people can't afford medical services in the US.

    In our country most people have to pay for dental services, as Evelyn mentioned above.
    Here in Romania people have the same medical/dental care problems with a much lower income. So I think in our country we need more volunteer efforts than in US but in fact we have less.

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  5. I can see the point in what Orsolya Csiszer is saying about the relationship between the low income and the proper medical attendance. However, as far as I'm concerned it aslo depends on the tuition, which people get about oral hygiene and prevention. For example, patients, who don't even know how to protect their teeth, they are more likely to have tooth decays. In my opinion the other main reason why patients have to pay a fortune at the dentist (and of course suffer) is that they are too scared of the specialist and they skip the controls. On the other hand, I consider this "mission" thought-provoking, since even in our country an event like this would be vital as often as it's possible.

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  6. This video starts with dramatic music. But overall they are doing a good deed for the less favorized people. They are doing the basics like: extractions, fillings, cleaning teeth, and some education. With one thousand volunteers they can help many people (probably all af them).
    I hope they can continue as much as they can .

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  7. I have to agree with Julia because I was impressed by the large number of volunteers that gathered to help people in need. But i guess that they did themselves a favor too because they are young doctors and having a place to work by themselves is good for their experience. I think i wouldn't refuse an offer like that either.
    In our country there was some kind of discount for children , but there isn't anymore because the insurance company doesn't have enough money
    In conclusion I admire the gesture made by americans but i don't belive that this kind of actions can be made in Romania ( at least not at this scale) because here people don't appreciate the medical sistem so much and neglect the importance of a good dental care.

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    1. So Cristina, you think this kind of volunteering would not be suitable for Romania. Why?
      What do the others think?

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  8. This summary of the Wisconsin Dental Assositiation's movement is really inspirational, it is hardly imaginable that such a noble initiation would come to life here in our country, altought it would be needed. I think good dentists are not those who are rocking in their fields and earn fame and a lot of money, but those who care about other people and once in a while make time for free dental care for those who can`t afford it. It is a question of mentality:)

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  9. Hi! I agree with the most of the bloggers, that this initiation is unselfish and useful but there are a few things i'd consider before going to a movement like this as a patient. First of all they said that they are planning to cure 2000 patients in two days. I don't know how the sterilization works in Wisconsin, but i don't think that they are cleaning the stuff in the best way possible. The second thought of mine is that there are a lot of dentists there, a lot of skilled ones, but there must be some unskilled too. In my opinion in Romania there is no such movement, and i don't think that it would be such a great success, according to these two statements.

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    1. I have to disagree with Zoltan in this case because I think before this program have started it was taken into account how much instruments are needed and the best method of sterilization before using them again.
      It was mentioned that there were 1000 volunteers so I think the 2000 patients are not as much as it sounds and for those people who are unemployed or uninsured this is a great possibility.

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  10. All I can say about this video is WOW is the first time when I see something like this. Those people deserve all the respect and gratitude. In Romania I`ve never heard about this kind of gesture of charity. My point of view is that dentists in Romania will never do something like, just because they think only of themselves and let's face it Romania is kind of corrupted coutry where all the money goes to the leaders and they do whatever they want with them and for health they allocate increasingly less money. So "hats off!" for those who are volunteers in M.O.M (mission of mercy).

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    1. My first thought was "WOW" too,Diana! These kind of charity treatments are not happening in our country and that is not a good thing,because it is well known that our country is not in a good position regarding oral hygiene.There was a time when dental treatment was free for children ,but unfortunetly that is not happening anymore and we can see the result: very few children are brought to the dentist.

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  11. I think I was impressed mostly by the last riport in wich is speeking a volunteer, named Nancy. She is talking about how she feels after a long day of volunteering. Nancy sad that there is nothig more beautiful than seeing people smiling after you helped them.
    It's quite not easy to solve problems all day like: extractions, fillings, cleaning teeth as my colleagues wrote before but it worth because those people can't afford these basic services otherwise.
    Our country needs similar initiations as Csilla sad because here the financial situation is significantly worse! I know only one tipe of free dental service in Romania: under the age of 18 the insurer pays for any kind of dental intervention.

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    1. Dear Nora, I enjoyed the content of your comment.
      I'd like to suggest for next comments to be a little more careful with your spelling - it is a condition for the post to be published, because this site is meant to help you improve your writing and be more aware of possible mistakes you make.
      For example:report in which a volunteer is speaking (word order also), Nancy said, it is worth, Csilla said, type of.
      Of course I can take them to be typos (due to the typing speed) still you need to read carefully before you hit the publish button next time, ok?

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  12. I don't think it would be suitable for Romania for now. I think that a preventive action is more appropriate for the begining especially for financial reasons. volunteering is suitable for Romania and for any country worldwide. I am just wondering if inRomania -financialy speaking- such a great scale action could take place. Even all the students from our university agree to volunteer it is almost impossible to raise necessary funds for the materials .

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    1. I agree with you, Cristina, unfortunately, our country has another kind of priorities for the moment, but it is quite common to hear those who have participated in a volunteer project describe it as one of the most rewarding experiences of their lives. There is certainly a considerable sense of personal satisfaction and accomplishment that comes with using your unique skills to help others and doing so under less than ideal circumstances. Many returning volunteers feel that they have gained much more than they have given because they have attained a greater understanding of different cultures and regions of the world. In sharing their knowledge and ability, they have been able to alleviate suffering caused by dental disorders and they have made new friends in the process. I hope one day I will be one of the Doctors Without Borders, I think this independent medical humanitarian organisation offers a great chance to help people and to make them smile.

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  13. There are many dentists who during their career forget the reason why they became dentists and they just want to earn more money. Well, in this impressive video there is not a single word about money,career or other selfish things and i don’t know how many of them would be satisfied in Romania with other people’s smile..

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    1. I agree with you,Agnes,and i hope we will be a little bit different. I mean,I hope we could change something and we won't be led by money.But as you said already,in Romania is very difficult to be satisfied only with people's smile.

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  14. I'm impressed by the intention of the volunteers to help those people who can not afford to go to the dentist, but in our country the charities does not exist, because in dental practice not even the kids benefit free treatment.

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    1. Andrea, do you know what preposition follows the verb "to benefit"?

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    2. The preposition which follows the verb "to benefit" is "of".

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  15. I haven't heard about a similar movement here in Romania...maybe in the near future! After watching this video I was impressed by the large number of volunteers and by the fact that people were sleeping outside in their cars to have the chance to get in first.
    As Cristina said, children under 18 used to have a discount, but since last year, the insurance company decided that the kids should pay for check-ups and all the maneuvers...this decision led to less patients and less healthy youth.
    The volunteers got the chance to practice what they've learned in uni, so this was sort of in their favor too! I would like to join an organization such as M.O.M

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    1. I agree with you , Antonia . I would also like to join such an organization. I feel that both the young doctor and the patient could benefit from this.
      I believe this because I'm not happy with the small amount of practice that we do to university and any kind of practical activities are welcome , even if they represent being an asistent to an older colleague , or just prepearing materials for them. Anything that helps us study in a practical way,

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  16. This video was very exciting, it shows how it wroks a well organised and accurate organisation in the USA, Wisconsin. I was impressed by the volunteers and the doctors, they work as hard as possible to take car of 2000 people only in two days. This is that, which we can not find in our country.

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    1. Balint, here you have to learn how to use the word order in English correctly. Word order is very important in English because it makes the difference between a regular sentence and a question, for example.
      In your sentence: "it show how it works (typo!) a well organised organisation...." there is a problem with word order (WO). Can you guess the right WO?

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  17. I was quite impressed by the sheer number of volunteers for this project , whilst the number of people whom actually turned out to -receive- said health care was quite underwhelming, and this is Wisconsin USA we're talking about , where I imagine people are more educated (being a first world country and all) about the need for dental hygiene and treatment. This leads me to believe that if this where to happen in our country the number of people who'd attend would be even smaller.

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    1. Stefan did you mean overwhelming? Likewise, it is "who" instead of "whom" actually turned out...
      How about:
      - if this where to happen....

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  18. I don’t think we have similar problems. I live in a village and even there it is a cabinet with a very good dentist.
    In this video impressed me that there were so many volunteers.

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    1. Wow Natalia, a dentist in a cabinet????

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    2. I have found it in dictionary .Cabinet or consulting room

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    3. Yes, I know, but we used a term that is employed in the English-speaking world: a practice. Before using a word, try to look it up not in a bilingual R-E E-R dictionary, but on the Internet - look for an English-English dictionary (google it: cabinet meaning) - and you will see that a cabinet is a place where you keep objects, a box with shelves, etc, and only archaically it is used with the term of dental practice.

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  19. Hi! I agree with these upper comments. It would be a pleasure for me to take part in a similar movement. The most important problem in our country is that people tend to neglect themself because they do not have enough money to attend even a dental consultation. By the way, there are dentists who do not take any money for consultation but the treatment still have costs. It would be useful and also admirable to make a similar movement, but I do not see any singn of that, just because of the fact that everyone makes everything for themself and for money.

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    1. Wrong phrase, Zsuzsi: the treatment still have costs; everyone makes everything for themself.......

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  20. It impresses me how people from America trust free dental cares provided by young volunteers. I don't think this kind of mission would work in Romania.
    I know about the free dental filling which were available in our country a few years ago but they are no longer free.

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  21. I think my favourite part of the video was the last report,- Nancy's- the volunteer's speach. We can find out how she feels after a long voluntarian day, talks about the beneficient effects after she helped to the people, she describes this feeling very appealing.
    I think ist's quite difficult to resolve every day several problems like: extractions,, cleaning teeth or filling it, as my colleagues wrote before but it worth because those people can't afford these basic services otherwise.
    Our country needs similar initiations, because here the financial situation is significantly worse...

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  22. I think it's worth mentioning the lack oral hygiene and works which for some are important, the reason being a financial one for most, dental work prices surpassing people's budget allocated for their oral health. If we think about the average salary in our country, we see how it is practically impossible for some people to achieve a good oral hygiene in their lifetime. Charity acts such as the above have only positive effects.

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  23. Here, in Romania, it is never going to be like this, because the majority of the dentists want a carrier after such a long time of studying and college. I think that almost all of the Romanian dentists want to go up in their activity, to earn more money. This would be ideal, but Romanian laws are made in such a way that only the patients would benefit from this volunteering.

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    1. Hi Madalina,
      there’s a funny meaning by your misplacing the correct word with "carrier"in "dentists want a carrier" can you check it please and let us know the correct word?

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    2. Otherwise, I totally agree with you.

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    3. My mistake, the correct word is career.

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  24. One thing that impressed me was the fact that people were sleeping in their cars only to be there early in the morning. The provided services were extractions,fillings,dental cleaning ,dental attendance education. I never heared about smth like this event organised in Romania but It will be something very nice.

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  25. If it will.be organised in our country

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  26. Dear PinkRibbon,
    please tell us your name first.

    Then please correct your mistakes:
    - talks abotu the beneficient effects
    -she describes this feeling vey appealing
    -ist’s
    - cleaning teeth or filling it
    - it worth
    - initiations

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  27. talks about
    very appealing
    it's
    cleaning and filling teeth
    it worths it
    initiation

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    1. Fine, now about your ID.

      About corrections:
      - it’s worth it.

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