Denturist
a social advance
108.000 more people in nursing homes by 2030 and it is certainly the tree that hides the forest!
Social progress?
In a study carried out in France, it appears that 28,1% of subjects over 65 years old wore a complete upper single maxillary prosthesis and that the rate of total double maxillary edentulism was 16,3%.. This rate was significantly higher among subjects with a low socio-economic level and living in rural areas.
WHO projections estimate approximately 30% of total edentulous people by 2030.
Costs and loss of time for overworked caregivers are the indirect consequences of defective equipment.
A poorly adapted dental prosthesis generates health problems for the patient and shared stress. Adjustments, making multiple appointments, complicated installation, unsuitability or replacement of faulty prostheses, all of this is part of the additional social and human costs. Most of the time, this causes numerous additional appointments not billed by dentists, and excessive costs in the operation of dental practices.
Denturists, an immediate solution to compensate for the lack of caregivers, fight against medical deserts and place the patient at the heart of the debate.
Thierry Supplie, director of France Denturiste responds :
There is currently training in the field contrary to what the ONCD indicated.
Today in France, the cost of the removable prosthesis, not the product itself, but its overall cost, can be reduced. Our goal is to help dental practices on the verge of collapse.
The specially trained Denturist, in addition to his professional skills in the manufacture of removable prostheses, can significantly reduce the overall bill, while freeing up precious time for dental surgeons for treatment. Delicate subject at the moment, belonging to the public domain, more than to private interests.
The Prosthetist makes the prostheses without seeing the patient; the Denturist has the patient directly: this allows him to evaluate the needs, the feasibility and to try to respond to aesthetic complaints, in order to give him complete satisfaction – currently several return trips from the laboratory to the dental office are requested, it is extremely time-consuming, expensive and sometimes the result is unsuitable.
Another saving is possible. Care within nursing homes, retirement homes, or at home. Without medical procedures and after validation of the end of care by their practitioner.
A single denturist trip can take care of 5 to 6 patients in a day, thus reducing medical transport intended primarily for emergency needs.
The Dental Surgeon is, and always will be, the only one to control dental health.
The basic medical training of the denturist is intended to enable effective collaboration with practitioners.
Another significant impact is the reduction in the carbon footprint of dental prostheses. By relocating manufacturing and maintaining jobs in the dental prosthetist profession, desperate in the face of unfair competition from imports.
The economic and ecological consequences of medical and ambulatory travel are also at stake.
As you have pointed out, for too long dental prosthesis professionals have followed additional training, in order to set up completely illegally to produce removable prostheses directly. And this without having the required skills.
This additional training does not provide any medical skills or knowledge related to dentistry but protects this activity, taking advantage of a legal vacuum allowing the activity of denturist without having authorization.
The arrival of Denturists officially validates a professional specificity which will make it possible to stop the illegal, but tolerated, practice in order to avoid placing possible risks on patients.
The ONCD indicates that the profession is unknown in France but this is not new: the Order must have forgotten that they made condemn a prosthetist, rightly, to prison (unique in France if I'm not mistaken, 6 months suspended for illegal practice and deceptive commercial practices and 6 months suspended by the Gap criminal court, for having illegally exercised the profession of dental prosthetist) and a lifetime ban from practicing in this professional field.
It is therefore time to unite our expectations in order to realize a public utility project together.
