On dentists
Table of Contents
Many patients report difficulty finding a dentist. We have the impression that the department is lacking practitioners? Is this correct?
This is a false impression. At 1is January, we had 284 active dentists. In ten years, the density has increased in the Landes to stand at 66 dentists per 100,000 inhabitants, knowing that the national average is 65.2. Another good news, we are on a pyramid…
On dentists
Many patients report difficulty finding a dentist. We have the impression that the department is lacking practitioners? Is this correct?
This is a false impression. At 1is January, we had 284 active dentists. In ten years, the density has increased in the Landes to stand at 66 dentists per 100,000 inhabitants, knowing that the national average is 65.2. Other good news is that we are on a favorable age pyramid with a rejuvenation of the profession over the last ten years.
In the Landes the areas range from very endowed to very under-endowed, the central strip of the department is a sector in tension. In these areas, the objective is to encourage installation assistance contracts. In 2025, the ARS and the CPAM will have 18 contracts to help maintain and establish dentists. Dental health centers have also opened in the department.
Centers that are often criticized…
We are very vigilant, these are dental health centers, which we authorize on the basis of a medical project, ensuring that they respect the regulations. We are working on this issue in a very transparent manner with the order of dental surgeons and the URPS (Regional Union of Health Professionals, Editor’s note).
On medical and rehabilitation care
In the department, we have a thermal hospital. What is its role?
The thermal hospital is a hospital with a Medical and Rehabilitation Service (SMR) with thermal support modalities. There are around forty beds in Dax with all health professionals trained for its operation. It is a structure that the Dax hospital center supports. It takes care of patients for whom the structure has a prescription for thermal treatment for complex patients.
The Landes, in fact, have numerous establishments to support patients sometimes involved in a long rehabilitation process.
Yes, through several establishments (12 in the department), depending on their specialty, which range from general-purpose to geriatric, including the nervous system, cardiovascular, pulmonology or even digestive, both in full hospitalization and in day hospitalization. In 2025, the ARS authorized the activity of medical services and rehabilitation in oncology at the Dax Hospital Center. This authorization will be implemented in the coming semesters.
There is also a proposal for home rehabilitation monitoring in the department.
Indeed, we have developed mobile rehabilitation teams to go to the homes of patient users, as part of a return home for example. We have a team in Mont-de-Marsan and we are in discussions with Dax to set one up.
On general practitioners and specialists
We discussed with you, at the beginning of 2025, the very problematic situation with the number of general practitioners in the department. Is the situation still tense?
Access to community medical care remains our priority. We always have a flow of departures and arrivals unevenly distributed across the department. The number of general practitioners is between 450 and 460. Our objective is to maintain the attractiveness of the territory.
We are on the front line to develop all the possibilities available to us, such as the arrival of junior doctors in the fall in community medicine. We work with elected officials, in particular to develop and renovate reception and accommodation structures for new professionals. This makes it possible to maintain a dynamic of attractiveness, particularly in terms of coverage of priority intervention areas.
Regarding specialists, is the situation the same?
The question of specialist doctors still remains a priority. Whatever the specialty, all facilities must be encouraged and supported. Tension or not, we will do what is necessary in conjunction with the advice of the order concerned, the hospital structures, as well as those of the Primary Health Insurance Fund.
Concerning emergencies
In certain departments, emergencies are sometimes disarmed due to lack of staff on weekends. Are we experiencing a similar situation in the Landes?
Thanks to the mobilization of health professionals and the remarkable involvement of everyone, the department’s emergency services are maintained. During the summer period, in conjunction with the Mont-de-Marsan and Dax hospital centers, we deploy Smur branches in Seignosse, Mimizan and Biscarrosse, which requires even more staff.
For this reason, we must constantly work on this attractiveness. Compared to other departments, we are preserved, without hiding a few occasional problems from time to time. We must remain vigilant, especially when the department has crossed the threshold of 97,000 emergency room visits in 2025.
Financially, are there establishments in serious difficulty?
date: 2026-02-07 13:02:00
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