Mónica Seidi highlights increased investment in oral health access and prevention - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Saúde e Segurança Social

As part of World Oral Health Day, marked today, the Regional Secretary for Health and Social Security, Mónica Seidi, highlighted the Regional Government’s commitment to promoting oral health through specific measures that improve access, prevention and the quality of care delivered to the Azorean population.

Among the investments made, special emphasis should be placed on the replacement of 12 dental chairs in Island Health centres, funded under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), covering five centres in São Miguel, three in Terceira, two in Faial, one in São Jorge and one in Flores, representing an overall investment of about €350,000.

The Dental Voucher programme has also been showing encouraging results in improving access to care. Since its launch in October 2025, about 134 applications have been submitted, including 115 on the island of São Miguel and 19 on the island of São Jorge. This measure allows users to access treatment from participating providers, paying just 5% of the total cost, representing an important step towards promoting access to oral health across the Region.

Regarding prevention, the Regional Secretary for Health highlighted the excellent results of the Oral Cancer Intervention Programme (PICCOA), coordinated by the Azores Oncology Centre, which aims to detect pre-malignant and malignant oral cavity lesions at an early stage. The programme includes annual screenings targeting specific age groups, consultations for referred cases and the distribution of the Individual Oral Health Report (BISO 40+), thereby strengthening surveillance and ensuring timely referral for specialist treatment.

So far, the second phase of the PICCOA programme (2022–2026) has recorded 36,354 screenings, with a participation rate of 29.3%, surpassing the first phase results (2017–2021).

World Oral Health Day is being marked with various initiatives at health centres across the island. In this regard, the São Miguel Island Health Unit will host informative exhibitions, health education sessions, screenings and activities for the school community. The activities also include initiatives at various health centres, promoting oral health literacy across different age groups.

The Regional Secretary for Health and Social Security emphasised that “this is a path that will continue to be consolidated, with a focus on prevention, universal access and the recognition of professionals, ensuring better standards of oral health for all Azoreans, whilst not forgetting the Government’s commitment to move forward, this year, with the creation of a career path for dentists within the Regional Health Service (SRS).”