ORAL HEALTH

SERVICE DESCRIPTION

The Basic Primary Oral Health Care Services at clinic level should as a minimum consist of promotive and preventive oral health services (oral health education, tooth-brushing programmes, fluoride mouth rinsing programmes, fissure sealant applications, topical fluoride application); and basic treatment services (an oral examination, bitewing radiographs, scaling and polishing of teeth and simple fillings of 1-3 tooth surffces including atraumatic restorative treatment (ART)) and emergency relief of pain and sepsis (including dental extractions).

NORMS
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  1. Expose at least 50% of primary schools to organised school preventive programmes.

  2. Everybody in the catchment area is covered by basic treatment services.
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STANDARDS
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  1. References, prints and educational materials

1.1 National Oral Health Policy
1.2 National Norms, Standards and Practise Guidelines for Primary Health Care
1.3 Provincial Operational Health Policy
1.4 Oral health educational material (posters, pamphlets etc).

  1. Equipment.

2.1 Dental unit complete with chair, light, hand piece unit with hand pieces, suction and compressor
2.2 Aseptic trolley
2.3 Dental Autoclave
2.4 Amalgamator
2.5 Dental X-ray unit
2.6 Intraoral X-ray film processor
2.7 X-ray view box
2.8 Lead apron
2.9 Ultrasonic scaler
2.10 Dental operating stool (2)
2.11 Dental hand instruments (refer 1.2 above)

Portable dental equipment where fixed facilities are not available.

  1. Medicines and Supplies

For details of material required, refer to 1.2 above

3.1 Medicine according to the EDL
3.2 Local anaesthetic materials
3.3 Exodontia and oral surgery procedure materials
3.4 Prophylaxis materials
3.5 Conservative procedure materials

  1. Competence of Health Staff

4.1 Community health workers offer oral health education to patients.
4.2 The dental assistant is competent to do patient administration, surgery cleanliness and infection control as well as chair-side assisting.
4.3 The oral hygienist is competent to conduct oral examination, apply fissure sealants, topical fluorides, scaling and polishing and taking of intra-oral x-rays.
4.4 The dental therapist is able to carry out oral hygienist competencies as well as tooth extractions and simple 1 to 3 surface filling of teeth.

  1. Referrals

5.1 All patients whose needs fall beyond the scope of services provided at the clinic are referred to the next level of care.

  1. Patient Education

6.1 All patients receive oral health education.

  1. Records

7.1 Patients records.
7.2 Patient register.
7.3 Statistics.

  1. Community Based Services

8.1 School oral health programmes consist of oral health education, tooth brushing and fluoride mouth rinsing and ART.

  1. Collaboration

9.1 Collaboration with other departments: Education, Water Affairs, and Forestry and other sections within health such as Child Health, Health Promotion, Environmental Health, Nutrition, Communication etc..

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