In order to protect children’s health of oral cavity, the city has carried out a prevention program against decayed tooth via pit and fissure sealant in three consecutive years since 2005. Over the period, the municipal government has appropriated a special fund totalling 13.76 million yuan to seal the first permanent molars (commonly known as 6-year-teeth) among 347,928 children of 7 to 9 years old, with an avarage of 2.15 molars per capita, which has played an very important role in preventing children’s decayed teeth.
The municipal government appropriated another special fund of 5.03 million yuan this year to continue the prevention program against decayed teeth via pit and fissure sealant among children of the right age free of charge from April 1 to October 20. Any child born between April 1, 2000 and September 31, 2002 may register for it at the designated medical institution within his/her due district. To register, a registered resident card or birth certificate is required to show, and for children from migrant workers’ families from other provinces to Beijing, a certificate of temporary residence or birth certificate. Upon approval by the parents, children with corresponding clinical indications can receive free service of decayed teeth prevention via pit and fissure sealant.
To facilitate parents for taking their children to undertake the pit and fissure sealant, the Municipal Office for Dental Diseases Prevention and Treatment, based on the strict examination, will designate nearly 100 nominated medical institutions across 18 districts and counties of the city to carry out the program this year, which is to enable children of the right age to enjoy the service at the nearest possible site. The Office has published on many newspapers the detailed information about the program and its impletation as well as the starting and ending dates, and it has also made public the address and contact means like the telephone number on websites for citizens to look up. In addition, the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau has required the designated medical institutions to hang a sign indicating the status as a nominated site at a noticeable location and to guarantee that there be doctors ready to receive child patients during working hours each day, especially during weekends, festival-related holidays and summer holidays to make it convenient enough for them to see a doctor.
To secure the quality of pit and fissure sealant program, the BeijingMunicipal Health Bureau has required all practitioners involved with the program to acquire a stomatologist’s certificate to practice and receive strict operation training by taking part in courses on techniques related to the prevention program against decayed tooth via pit and fissure sealant held by the Research Institute of Dental Diseases Prevention and Treatment. The Municipal Office for Dental Diseases Prevention has required the rate of pit and fissure sealant in good condition of nominated medical institutions conduncting the program in all the districts and counties to reach 85% at least. Thanks to the strict management, the quality of pit and fissure sealant has been guaranteed effectively and its good-condition rate increased from 91.44% in 2007 to 93.58% in 2008.
For more details, please visit http://www.bjhb.gov.cn/ (Beijing Health Information Network) or dial 12320, the service hotline for public health issues of Beijing, for enquiry.