School Dental Service
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The SCHOOL DENTAL SERVICE is the main thrust of the public oral health services. Oral healthcare to primary and secondary school children is delivered through the School Dental Service (SDS) which utilizes the Incremental Dental Care Approach, a systematic and comprehensive approach for delivery of care with the final objective that the children achieve an orally-fit status. Care is delivered mainly at school dental clinics, dental clinics, mobile dental teams and complemented by mobile dental clinics. The SDS has been successful at reducing the caries experience of school children. Expansion to reach almost 98.2% of primary and 84.0% of secondary schoolchildren in 2009 has been largely through the outreach strategy implemented since the early 1970s. These mobile teams utilizing portable equipment, have brought oral healthcare to even the most remote areas. Mobile dental teams has increased about 37-fold from 13 in 1970 to 476 in 2008.