Beginning this month, pregnant women are entitled to free teeth cleaning and scaling services three times during their pregnancy, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) said.
NHIA Medical Affairs Division official Chen Chen-hui (陳真慧) said pregnant women are at higher risk of tooth decay and periodontal disease for several reasons, including changes in diet due to hormonal changes and neglect of oral health.
Several US studies have shown that periodontal disease and tooth decay in pregnant women can affect fetal health, with higher risk of premature birth or low infant birth weight.
The agency last year provided one free teeth cleaning, scaling service and newborn oral care health education for pregnant women, but to enhance oral care for pregnant women, the Taiwan Dental Association has increased the service to once every 90 days.
However, only about 5,800 among 190,000 pregnant women have a teeth cleaning and scaling service each year in Taiwan, Chen said, adding that the agency encourages pregnant women to have their teeth cleaned.
In addition to enhancing care for pregnant women, the administration said that it has also increased outpatient examination fees for people older than 75 at Western medicine primary care clinics by 7.5 percent, starting this month.
The Taiwan Medical Association proposed the increase to encourage elderly people — who often have chronic disease and degenerative conditions that require doctors to spend more time examining them — to seek treatment at primary care clinics, the administration said.
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