WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao is taking another step toward improving access to oral healthcare with the acquisition of two new mobile dental clinics, which have completed their final inspections in Brazil and are now ready to be shipped to the island.
A delegation from the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature (GMN) recently traveled to Caxias do Sul, Brazil, to conduct the final technical and operational inspections of the two dental buses manufactured by Marcopolo.
The delegation was led by GMN Secretary-General Sharlon Melfor and included Leonard Gomperts, Head of Maintenance at ABC Busbedrijf, and dental equipment specialist Brian Simmons.
Over several days, the delegation carried out detailed inspections of the vehicles and their technical and dental installations. Following completion of the inspection, Melfor gave approval for both buses to be shipped to Curaçao.
The acquisition forms part of the development of the preventive oral healthcare program “Pendiente di bo Djente.” The initiative is intended to make dental care more accessible and sustainable, particularly for children and young people, residents of institutions and people living in neighborhoods where access to regular dental care may be more difficult.
The mobile approach also revives a long history of preventive dental care in Curaçao. The government began providing mobile dental services at schools as far back as 1956.
After the previous dental bus was taken out of service in 2021, services were adapted, with greater emphasis placed on providing information about dental hygiene at schools and institutions.
With the arrival of the two new buses, dental services can once again be brought directly into communities.
Services are expected to include oral health information and education, preventive examinations, dental cleaning and basic dental treatments. Patients requiring more advanced treatment can be referred to appropriate dental professionals.
According to GMN, the initiative is in line with the Pisas III Cabinet’s government program and Health Minister Tyron Boekhoudt’s prevention strategy, which places greater emphasis on preventing and detecting health problems at an early stage.
The two mobile dental clinics are expected to arrive in Curaçao by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026. Following the necessary preparations, the government aims to put them into service during the first quarter of 2027.
GMN says the investment is part of its broader effort to make preventive oral healthcare more accessible and improve early detection of dental and oral health problems across Curaçao.
