Summary
Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) comprise a heterogenous group of muscle and joint disorders that affect the masticatory system. According to national statistics, the prevalence of at least one diagnosis of TMD in the adult population is 49.6 %, while 19.6 % suffers from severe temporomandibular pain. Care of patients affected by these disorders corresponds to the dentist specialized in temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain (TMD and OFP); these particular disorders and the specialty were incorporated by the Ministry of Health in 2013. The pathologies are not incorporated in the Explicit Health Care Guarantees (GES) and only recently protocols for a referral program were established for Primary Dental Care in this area. In this study, the present situation of the specialty of TMD and OFP in the public health care network is analyzed, as well as possible solutions and improvements to the difficulties encountered therein.
KEY WORDS: public health, health care allocation , temporomandibular disorders, orofacial pain.
How to cite this article
ABARZÚA, P.; CORONADO, L. & CASASSUS, R. Challenges of the Chilean public health care system network in temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain specialty. Int. J. Odontostomat., 13(4):475-480, 2019.
