MoH to build 6 new specialized dental centers costing SR 460 m

The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced yesterday plans to build six new specialized dental centers at a cost of over SR460 million in six major regions in the Kingdom.
The spending is part of the ministry's budget this year.
The Director General of the Dentistry Department in the MoH, Dr. Mohammed Al-Rafee, said the centers will be established in the holy city of Makkah, Al-Ahsa, Samtah, Taif, Qatif and Al-Kharj. He added that these specialized centers will have 430 clinics in all these regions.
Under the proposed program, there will be 100 clinics in Makkah, 100 in Al-Ahsa, 30 in Samtah, 100 in Taif, 50 in Qatif and 50 in Al-Kharj.
“The new centers will ease the pressure on the other hospitals in the respective areas and also provide comprehensive dental care for patients who hail from those areas,” Al-Rafee said. Patients will then no longer have to travel long distances for quality treatment, he added.
The official said the ministry has started a program to strengthen dental services across the country with quality staff and infrastructure. The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties supervises the program.
He said the Kingdom wants to keep up with the most advanced state-of-the-art curative and preventive dental services. Al-Rafee said last year 280 dental clinics were opened in all parts of the Kingdom, a 12.57 percent growth rate.
The official said the dentistry department of the MoH has 200 clinics in the King Saud Medical Complex and 100 more in the east of Riyadh.
There are more dental centers in the south and north of Jeddah, Madinah, Baha, Qassim, Hail, Jazan, Hafr Al-Batain, Bisha, Dammam, Najran, Saqaka, Tabuk and Qunfudah.
He pointed out that last year there were over 1.3 million visits recorded at the Ministry of Health's dental centers.
A total of 22.7 percent of the surgeries conducted in these centers were due to problems related to the jaws and teeth of patients.
There are 35.1 dentists for every 100,000 people in the Kingdom, which means there is one doctor for every 2,850 people in the public and private sectors in the Kingdom, the official noted.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah met with Ambassador Adam Kulach, head of the European Union Delegation in the Kingdom, at his office yesterday.
During the meeting, they reviewed cooperation between the Kingdom and the European Union, and discussed issues of common interest in training, technology transfer and the promotion of healthcare for those suffering from chronic diseases. The meeting was attended by General Supervisor of the General Administration of International Relations Dr. Afaf Al-Shamma.