Mandahasam' to spread smile among elderly

KOZHIKODE: The social justice department has come up with a project to bring smiles on the face of the elderly with artificial teeth. The project, 'Mandahasam' is based on the finding that geriatric community suffers from nutrition deficiency due to the lack of chewing food. As per the scheme, 60-above persons who belong to the BPL families are eligible for free tooth replacement provided they produce a medical certificate. In the first phase, the SJ department has set apart Rs.75 lakh and as many as 1,500 beneficiaries would be selected this year. "A maximum of Rs 5000 will be provided to each person. The government and private empanelled hospitals are involved in it," says Aneeta Eslin, SJ officer of Alappuzha. 

In Alappuzha district, only government hospitals are involved and as many as 45 persons were selected under the project initially. In Kozhikode, 40 elders were selected and their tooth replacement would be done at government general hospital Kozhikode and Vadakara district hospital. "Private dental hospitals had been invited to come under the empanelled list. But they feel that Rs 5,000 is not enough to meet the expenses," said P. Parameshwaran, SJ officer-in-charge in Kozhikode.

"More than 20 per cent of the state population are seniors. One of the major reasons for nutritional problems among the elderly is the loss of teeth. As per a rough estimate, 30 per cent of the senior citizens are in need of dental care or dental replacement," said an officer at SJ department.