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HEALTH

Spain to offer free dental care to children 

The Spanish government is set to approve a measure which will offer children aged 0 to 14 and other population groups free preventative dental care through the country’s public healthcare system. 

Published: 14 June 2022 11:06 CEST
spain free dentist public health
Around 7 million people in Spain, mostly children aged 0 to 14, will soon be able to receive free dental check-ups through the country's public health system. (Photo by JAY DIRECTO / AFP)

The Spanish cabinet on Tuesday looks set to allocate €44 million to its new Oral Health Plan, which aims to give free dental care to young children, pregnant women, people with mental disabilities or upper limb physical disabilities as well as people with head and neck cancers.

Although Spain’s public health system is regarded as one of the best in the world, it generally does not cover dental treatment, meaning most Spaniards have to pay a private dentist to get a check-up or receive any dental treatment. 

Some regions offer more than others. For example, when it comes to young children, Madrid covers the cost of fillings in 6 to 15 year olds, Andalusia pays for check-ups for children aged 6 to 15, and Catalonia and the Valencia region both offer free preventative treatment to those aged 0 to 14.

What Spain’s new Oral Health Plan would do is “homogenise” this public dental cover for children and other population groups deemed vulnerable across all of the country’s 17 regions and two autonomous cities. 

But according to Health Minister Carolina Darias, children aged 0 to 14 will be the primary beneficiaries of this legislation, as they number above 6.5 million in Spain and the plans include regular check-ups, cavity analysis, minor interventions and more.

The future measure, which will still require parliamentary approval in the coming weeks before it can come into force, will also prevent the introduction of more co-payments for non-urgent medical transport or therapeutic dietary and ortho-prosthetic products.

It will not cover the cost of cosmetic treatment such as braces or teeth whitening.

Pregnant women have been included in the plan given that bleeding increases during pregnancy due to heightened circulation, as well as the fact that calcium levels decrease. 

The overall focus of the legislation is on preventative dental care as in the words of the health minister “most” diseases related to oral health, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer or obesity “can be prevented and treated in the early stages”.

The draft law also includes a clause stating that these free healthcare schemes cannot be managed by private companies, as is currently the case.

The €44 million in free dental care funds will be taken from the €70 billion allocated by the EU as part of the bloc’s post-pandemic recovery plans.

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

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