No.In the labyrinth of calli, canals and bridges in Venice, disabled residents risk giving up apparently less urgent care, such as those for teeth, which force them to come and go with water ambulances (motorboats for transporting the sick).
Dentist at home: how it works
To meet patients who do not walk and are bedridden, Ulss 3 Serenissima, the Venetian healthcare company, has set up the dentist at home. Every Wednesday, for 8 hours, the dentist’s itinerary, with map in hand (because the GPS does not always work), unfolds in a series of visits between the islands and the mainland. Up to six patients at a time.
The benefits of the initiative
«We offer a first preventive visit and a service for the implantation of prostheses, which requires 4-5 appointments for impressions and tests – explains Michele Franzinelli, director of the complex unit of odontostomatology and maxillofacial surgery of the company -. Restoring the entire dentition means return the correct chewing, smiles and social life. Working in an unprotected environment, no other invasive interventions are performed ».
The dentist at home for the most fragile patients
In 5 months of experimentation «we have seen one twenty patients, many over 70And among those who do not already walk in charge of the Ulss who need a prosthesis, there are about a hundred. With word of mouth we expect others – says Franzinelli -. Only the cost of the material of the artifact is borne by the citizen who can nevertheless ask for a reimbursement to the Municipality“. You can book by calling the dentistry secretariat of the Civil hospital.
To ask for information or to book a home visit, the non-ambulatory user can call the secretariat of Odontostomatology of the Civil Hospital of Venice directly on 041 529 4564, even without passing through the Cup.
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