India is the second country in the world with the largest population living below the poverty line, 96.7 million people out of a total population of 1.324 billion. Although there is a public health system in India, access to it is provided only through the network of primary and community health centres. Each primary health centre serves a population of around 30,000 people in the plains and 20,000 in remote areas.
The prevalence of dental caries, periodontal diseases and oral cancer among the Indian population has been increasing. Studies of the prevalence of dental caries in India have shown results ranging from 31.5% to 89%. This increase in the prevalence of oral diseases in the country is mainly due to the increase among the population in rural areas, urban slums and school-aged children, who represent a significant percentage of the underserved population. This is attributed to lack of awareness about oral diseases and methods to prevent and control them, poor oral hygiene practices, lack of access to essential dental services, harmful habits such as smoking, which are risk factors for periodontal diseases and oral cancer, lack of financial resources to seek high quality dental services through private dentists and lack of perception that teeth are worth saving.
Through the Mobile Dental Clinic - a converted ambulance/van type vehicle, equipped and fitted with everything necessary to convert it into a Dental Clinic - the team of doctors from Colores de Calcuta visits the population of remote rural and urban areas (Slums) of Calcutta to ensure that people living in a situation of vulnerability and exclusion can access the treatment they need. The aim is to bring dental treatment to 11,000 people and 50 patients are treated each day, 6 days a week.
