HYDERABAD: Dental professionals are appealing to the state govt to begin dentistry departments and establish functional dental units in the govt medical colleges across the state. They pointed out that the National Medical Council (NMC) mandates that every medical college with 100 MBBS seats should have a functional department of dentistry with at least an eight-member faculty.
According to the recently released NMC provisional seat count for UG and PG medical courses, of the total 36 govt medical colleges in Telangana, there are at least 28 medical colleges with 100 or more medical seats. However, apart from Osmania Medical College (OMC) and Gandhi Medical College (GMC), none of them has a dentistry department or the faculty to run it, an official from the directorate of medical education (DME) confirmed to TOI.
All India Dental Students & Surgeons Association (AIDSA) recently submitted an application to the DME in this regard. AIDSA national president Dr MD Manzur said that the integration of dental departments in the govt medical colleges is essential for providing comprehensive training to the upcoming dental professionals.
"Several recently passed out postgraduate students approached us too on this matter. If dentistry departments are opened in the govt colleges, it will not only help the students to identify and address oral health issues effectively but also to attain employment, which is already low in the dental field," he told TOI, adding that July 2015 and March 2017 notifications of Gazette of India align with NMC mandate.
For the dentistry department, the NMC states that each medical college where a dental wing exists should recruit a professor, associate professor, assistant professor, junior residents, and store keeper-cum-clerk. It also mandates four dental technicians. Incidentally, Telangana has only one govt dental college in Afzalgunj, Hyderabad, which is currently embroiled in an admission process and counselling controversy.
A member of the Telangana Dental Council said dental departments will also cater to the needs of local people in these areas, particularly in rural regions, at a low cost. "Dentists should also be recruited at primary healthcare centres to improve the oral care of people."
"The decision will be taken by higher authorities of the department," said DME official.
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