A bridge course for dentists and Ayush?

  

The Dental Council of India is asking for a bridge course for dentists, which will enable them to become mid-level healthcare providers. However, this has to be viewed in the right context.

A large number of seats in dental colleges are lying vacant for the past few years; this is particularly the case with the private dental colleges as these colleges charge a very high admission fee, running into several lakhs. Yet, private dental colleges keep mushrooming randomly.

Only 40 of around 300 dental colleges in the country are in the government sector (Press Information Bureau, October 13, 2018).

Many of these private colleges are ill-equipped and fail to meet the requirements and standards; therefore, they need to be shut down or closed. A bridge course would be a lifeline for such colleges.

The WHO dentist-population ratio is 1:7500. The dentist-patient ratio in the country at present is around 1:8,000 (Press Information Bureau, October 13, 2018).  But this number is disproportionate in the urban and rural areas. The disparity is particularly glaring in the rural areas, where there is just one dentist for 50,000 people.

Will not the proposed bridge course, if it comes into being, further add to this shortage?

Similar is the case for Ayush doctors…

Some facts to ponder

·           Dentists already treat fever, prescribe antibiotics, treat primary health problems linked to dental hygiene, treat oral cavity-linked diseases, give IV fluids; they have a link with anesthetists, then why give them another primary care course?

·           Allowing Ayush doctors to practice allopathic medicine at a primary care level sends a message that Ayurveda is not competent to provide primary care to people. They why continue with the Ayurveda course? If Ayurveda cannot treat common ailments such as cough, cold, diarrhea, fever, infections, breathlessness, asthma etc. why treat them as main stream system of medicine. The same holds true for Homeopathy and Unani systems of medicine.

·           Naturopathy and yoga provide no drugs and hence cannot be equated at par with systems that prescribe drugs.

A question then arises - Why is the government contemplating a bridge course for dentists and Ayush doctors?

Will such mid-level health providers actually enhance the public health system? Or, is this a move to protect the interests of private dental college owners?

The respective systems of medicine should be strengthened and made more effective. A common basic curriculum in primary health care can be designed for all who wish to become doctors. And only after completion of this basic course, they should advance further in their chosen subject or the chosen system of medicine.

India has a deficit of an estimated 600,000 doctors. But, crosspathy is not the answer to this conundrum.

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee

President Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania   (CMAAO)

Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications

President Heart Care Foundation of India

Past National President IMA