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SQM Sets Up a Mobile Dental Clinic to Provide Free Dental Care to Salar de Atacama Communities
More than 200 Camar residents have received specialized dental care through the program, which is a result of joint efforts by SQM and the community. Housed in a fully-equipped truck, the program provides comprehensive dental care, including endodontics, periodontics, dental surgery and oral rehabilitation.
To date, the Mobile Dental Clinic has provided more than 200 dental services in Camar thanks to a program SQM sponsored in response to the health needs expressed by the community. The initiative aims to improve people’s quality of life and give Salar de Atacama communities back their smiles with dental care provided by specialists in a fully equipped truck with everything needed to provide comprehensive care.
“It is generally really difficult for us to get a dental check-up. It is even more difficult for us to cover emergency care costs since we have to go to San Pedro, get an appointment and wait to see the dentist. Now we have been able to get all our check-ups and follow-up visits without having to leave town,” says Martiza Cruz, a Camar resident and one of the program’s patients.
The Mobile Dental Clinic has provided Camar residents with check-ups, cleanings, extractions, intraoral x-rays and other care. In the coming weeks, patients who undergo a professional evaluation and need dental prosthesis will receive them at no cost. Everything is done under strict compliance with health regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Romualda Badilla, a program beneficiary, commented that “it is great that the dental clinic comes to the community. Since they come here, we do not have to go to Toconoa or San Pedro for care. There is not very much public transport here. It is difficult to get around and even more so in the event of a dental emergency.”
On that note, Alejandro Bucher, Environment and Community Senior Vice President at SQM Salar, emphasized that the program “is part of a series of health-related initiatives that we have undertaken in the context of the pandemic. It is also part of the work we do as a company in Salar de Atacama communities. We are very pleased to contribute to the communities with the Mobile Dental Clinic, a program focusing on dental rehabilitation for local residents. They are in the hands of a disciplinary team specializing in different areas of dentistry to provide comprehensive care.”
Mobile Dental Clinic
The program began providing care in Camar thanks to coordination between community leaders, their head of health, Ivette Cruz, and the Company. The Mobile Dental Clinic is a truck that will rotate through different Salar de Atacama towns and will be equipped for specialty dental care and procedures, including all types of dental cleaning, root canals, extractions and reconstructions like fillings, veneers, crowns, prosthesis and implants.
The truck’s infrastructure includes an X-ray room for intraoral X-rays, a bathroom, an awning for the waiting area, stairs and a platform to facilitate access for persons with limited mobility.