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Polyclinic to offer free dental care to Olympic athletes

The Olympic Games will be held in London from 27 July to 12 August. (DTI/Photo courtesy of LOCOG/London 2012)
Dental Tribune International

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 16 July 2012

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LONDON, UK: Athletes participating in the Olympic Games in London will be offered free dentistry and eye care at a new polyclinic in London. Two hundred athletes a day are expected to receive treatment. For athletes without access to dental care in their home countries, this could be a chance to obtain professional treatment for problems other than injuries sustained during the Olympics.

As reported by British newspaper The Independent, the treatments will be performed at the specially constructed £23 million Polyclinic in Olympic Park. The 24-hour health centre has been established with £17 million from NHS funds and £6 million from the £9.3 billion Olympics budget.

In addition to treatment for the usual sports injuries, the Polyclinic will offer free dentistry and eye care. The organisers expect these clinics to be the busiest, after physiotherapy. They stressed that the medical care at the Polyclinic will be for immediate and essential treatment and not for pre-existing conditions. However, the dental clinic expects to treat a wider range of conditions.

“We would complete and finish a root canal for someone who might not be able to get it in their own country,” Wendy Turner, a dentist who will be working at the clinic, told The Independent. According to her, the clinic offers an opportunity for competitors who have not have access to dental care to undergo treatment.

Debbie Jevans, Director of Sport for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, told the newspaper: “Even the most minor ailment can have serious implications upon an elite athlete’s performance. We have worked hard to equip the Polyclinic to respond quickly and provide athletes with the treatment they require onsite.”

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