Ghirlanda (Andi): “Covid has removed Italians from dental practices”

The pandemic has led to a drop in medical visits and checkups, and about a third of Italians have turned to their dentist only for ’emergencies’ compared to just over a quarter of visits for routine checkups. Covid has significantly penalized access to prevention and dental care, also due to the economic crisis, as emerges from an epidemiological survey carried out in Italy by the Universities of Milan and Bern, in collaboration with the National Association of Italian Dentists (Andi) and the support of Mentadent, released on the occasion of the 41st edition of the ‘Month of Dental Prevention’. “For 41 years Andi and Mentadent have been working to increase awareness and the culture of prevention of the mouth and all the tissues that compose it”, explains Carlo Ghirlanda, president Andi. “Covid has heavily influenced the habits of Italians to go to the dentist. It is important to keep the focus on mouth prevention. Going to the dentist repeatedly to be checked means savings in economic terms but above all an improvement in the quality of life and health. ”The month dedicated to dental prevention, organized by Andi and Mentadent, is in its 41st edition. An appointment that year after year has helped Italians to raise awareness of oral health by offering over a million visits and thousands of consultations. “In this moment of pandemic we expect a response from the institutions. It is necessary to understand that volunteering is important, the diffusion of Italian dental practices on the territory is a treasure for the country but at this point the problem of the sustainability of care and access dental care must be evaluated in a different and further way “.