Recently, the Ministry of Public Health launched a health program that provides the elderly access to free-of-charge dental implants.  
 
The program aims to improve the life quality of senior citizens while commemorating the sixth-cycle birthday anniversary of His Majesty King Rama X or King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who will turn 72nd in 2024.
 
The program targets 3,000 elderly beneficiaries of the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) who have missing teeth — the government healthcare scheme that covers 47 million people in Thailand.
 
As a fund manager of the UCS, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) has supported the program and willingly taken part in making the program achieve its objective.
 
Missing teeth are a common health issue among senior citizens.
 
Public Health Ministry survey in 2017 pointed out that around 8.7% of the elders above 60 years old lost all permanent teeth.
 
Elders between 60 and 74 years old have an average of 18 permanent teeth each, which drops to 10 when they reach the age of 80 to 85. 
 
Many people are  unaware that teeth loss could harm their lives. Those with few or no teeth have difficulty chewing food, which affects their digestive system and nutrient intake.
 
Missing teeth can also lead to periodontal disease that raises the risks of general health and complications such as heart disease, hypertension, and certain types of cancer.
 
On the other hand, missing teeth can reduce individuals’ confidence in socializing.
 

 They may feel embarrassed to speak and smile in front of others, forcing them to escape from the public eye and risking mental health problems.
 
Therefore, providing people access to affordable artificial teeth and dental implants could be a life-changing solution, especially for those in low-income families who are unable to afford the treatment fees.
 
Since its introduction in 2002, the UCS has provided people with free removable dentures and supported between 50,000 and 60,000 cases annually.
 
Many of these cases involve elders and around 10% of them must withdraw from wearing removable dentures because their teeth or gums become flat without ridges on — a common issuefor long-term wearers.
 
To continue using artificial teeth, they need dental implant surgeries that root false teeth by implanting screws into the jaws — a high-tech solution comes with a high cost.
 
Most dental clinics import screws from abroad, making them very expensive. However, two years ago, some Thai companies successfully developed low-cost but high-quality screws, reducingthe cost to 3,000 baht per screw.  
 
This technological progress has positively impacted to the health system, allowing Thai government to procure implant screws and include dental implants in the UCS benefits package.
    
Free dental implants are now available in state-run hospitals partnering with the NHSO.
 
Currently, this health benefit prioritizes the elderly individuals with full-moth teeth loss who are unable to wear dentures because they are the most struggling group.
 


Under the partnership with the Ministry of Public Health commemorating the sixth-cycle birthday anniversary of His Majesty King Rama X, the NHSO has supported the procurement of items and equipment needed for operating dental implant surgeries.  
 
The NHSO has worked with local hospital staff to seek elderly individuals in need of the service, including those in rural areas where dental clinics are out of reach.
 
It will also promote this program from the national to local community level to encourage elderly to visit hospitals and request the service.
 
We expect the number of elders receiving dental implant surgeries will drastically increase within two years of the program’s implementation.
 
This will also reduce the waiting time for people requesting dental implant surgeries after the program’s completion as the elderly is the largest group waiting in the queues.
 
I want to highlight that the elderly are not the only population group eligible for dental implants under the UCS.
 
General adults are also eligible and can request the service at the state-run hospital in their registries.
 
Soon we will expand the priority group to general people needing one-time implants in the near future. But now we focus on the elderly as they are most affected by full-mouth missing teeth and need more than one implant surgery each.
 
In partnership with Ministry of Public Health, we believe that our effort to increase the elderly access to dental implants will significantly improve their lquality of life and health conditions.
 
This partnership is also part of our mission to create a healthy aged society. As Thailand is now an aged country, it needs healthy senior citizens to move forward the country along with the young generations.