The dental clinics of Sancti Spíritus will have anesthesia to care for their patients, at least “for the next few months.” The chief of the Stomatology section of the province, Daniel Álvarez, assured to the official press that, despite their availability, other supplies that have been out of state medicine cabinets for some time, such as resin and amalgam, are still lacking or will be reserved for educational use.
According to Álvarez, the arrival at hospitals of photopolymerizable resin and its intermediate bases – used in the placement of this substance – is still pending.
Other resources will be available. This is the case of halogen light lamps, ultrasound pieces and aerotor -the utensil to apply air-, first and second family endodontic files, calcium hydroxide, dentofar, white plaster, stone plaster and alginate, with which no it was counted “since before the pandemic.”
In the area of orthodontics, “the province has been affected like the rest of the country,” said the specialist
However, attention is still limited, so vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, children under 19 years of age, the elderly and the disabled have been prioritized.
In the area of orthodontics, “the province has been affected like the rest of the country,” declared the specialist, who also warned that they do not have fixed appliances – the so-called braces– nor with a set date for its distribution.
In a interview previous, Alvarez confirmed that in Sancti Spíritus, as in the rest of the Island, the medical centers have no choice but to work with the medicines that the patients bring. In the case of his specialty, he explained, they allow them to offer amalgam or resin because “they do not compromise life”, but when it comes to using other inputs of dubious origin, such as anesthesia, the risk increases and the official decision in that case is not to intervene.
Anesthesia, he warned, is administered directly into the nerve through infiltration techniques, for which only drugs certified by the Center for State Control of the Quality of Medicines (Cecmed) are applied, as regulated by Law 41 of Health public.
The refusal of the clinics to accept the anesthesia purchased by the patients –up to 600 pesos per bulb in the informal market– provoked complaints from the population, from which other supplies are accepted, especially after some media, such as the station from Matanzas Radio Llanura de Colón will announce, this March, that homeopathic drops were being used as a substitute for anesthesia. A procedure during which “the patient perceives all the surgical manipulation, but does not feel pain,” the station said.
While medicines are still in short supply, the population turns to sales pages such as Revolico to meet their needs
Álvarez explained that there are few occasions in which the vials carried by the patients can really be used in the treatments, because key information for their use is lacking, such as the expiration date and the Cecmed certification. “Sometimes, the way to administer this imported medicine is also very different from the one we use in Cuba, with different doses,” he said.
While medicines are still in short supply and the population goes to buying and selling pages such as Revolico to meet their needs, the Government has decided to alleviate the crisis by extending for the fourth time, this first of July, the exemption from customs taxes for hygiene products, medicines and “non-commercial” food.
Now Cubans will be able to import more than double what they were allowed up to now with the entry into force of an extension of the cargo limit on parcels and unaccompanied baggage. The provision is part of a resolution published this Thursday in the Official Gazette, valid until December 31, 2023, and guarantees that it is the emigrants, once again, who alleviate the crisis.
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