MY-DENTY-KIT - ORAL HYGIENE IN PRISON

Aim: right to health of prisoners follows two fundamental principles: the right to maintain good health and the right to treatment. My Denty Kit” is a Third Mission project that intends to start a path of prevention of oral health in prisons, often overlooked aspect. According to Italian scientific research, in fact, pathologies of the gastrointestinal system and of the dental system, constitute one of the main causes of illness for detained people. Inmates’ oral health problems depend, consistently with risk factors for general health and the lack of daily oral hygiene tools. The aim of the project is the creation of an oral health prevention campaign with the delivery of oral hygiene kits and explanatory booklets for daily oral care for the well-being of prisons in the Lazio Region. Methods: for the creation of the My-Denty-Kit, cooperatives/ associations relating to prison life and the Oral Care sector industries were involved. The kit consists of a toothbrush, toothpaste and an information brochure with all the explanatory photographs of the brushing phases, explained in four languages. Results: a first quantity of 2,500 health aids and multilingual educational brochures was delivered by the Sapienza team to the “New Complex” of the Rebibbia penitentiary in Rome to be distributed to detained people. Conclusions: Sapienza confirms its commitment to promoting activities dedicated to the well-being and health of people living in a prison situation as well as to promote access to high-level training courses, from an inclusive and Third Mission perspective”.