Friday January 10, 2025, in the middle of the afternoon, in the cozy lounges of the Indre prefecture, a signing of an agreement marked a major step forward for the safety of the department's dental surgeons. An unprecedented partnership has been sealed between the Departmental Council of the Order of Dental Surgeons (CD 36), the gendarmerie and the police. The goal? Dispel a growing feeling of insecurity among these health professionals, sometimes faced with intense tensions in their offices.
“On-call practitioners find themselves isolated, sometimes facing aggressive behavior”
With only 71 dental surgeons for 234,000 inhabitants, Indre is one of the departments least well equipped with practitioners in France. According to Doctor Bruno Meymandi-Nedjad, president of CD 36, the scarcity of professionals aggravates the difficulties of access to care: “This tension is felt in the offices, especially on weekends and during emergencies. On-call practitioners find themselves isolated, sometimes facing aggressive behavior, such as death threats. »
Although serious cases are rare, the discomfort is very real. “This feeling of insecurity can become harmful”he explains.
A convention to appease
The signed agreement provides for concrete measures. The schedules of the practitioners on duty will be communicated to the police and patrols can be dispatched if necessary. Dentists can also be registered in the SIP module (Security of interventions and special protection requests), a database allowing rapid intervention.
For prefect Thibault Lanxade, these provisions are a response to a complex reality: “This agreement is a means of ensuring the peace of mind of practitioners, who are essential in an already under-resourced territory. »
Train and prevent
Beyond direct intervention, the convention focuses on prevention. Training courses are organized to teach dentists and their assistants to manage tense situations, to adapt their premises or to consider security measures, such as the installation of airlocks or cameras. These tips, already tested during actions carried out in 2024, have met with great success: “Two thirds of the department’s practitioners were present, proof that the need is real”underlines Colonel Julien Faugère, of the departmental gendarmerie group.
A signal for the future
For the authorities, the issue goes beyond simple security: it is also about not driving away professionals who are already in insufficient numbers: “We cannot afford to lose any moreinsists Faugère. The convention is there to reassure them and show them that they are not alone. »
The message seems to be getting through. “We now know that if there is a problem, there will be a quick response”rejoices Meymandi-Nedjad.
