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

Parasympathetic yoga postures help in prostate cancer

Yoga can reduce the emotional and physical fatigue brought on by cancer treatment. In 2017, scientists reported for the first time that this is also true specifically for men undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

Men who took a yoga class twice a week during prostate cancer radiation treatment reported less fatigue, fewer sexual side effects, and better urinary functioning than men who did not.

The research team enrolled 50 men aged 53 to 85 years, who were diagnosed with early or advanced nonmetastatic prostate cancer. Of them, 22 were assigned to yoga classes and the rest did not participate in yoga. All the men received scheduled radiation treatments; 29 of them were also on hormonal therapy, and 19 had been treated previously with surgery. The yoga and control groups were evenly balanced with respect to various cancer treatments as well as treatments for side effects.

The yoga sessions (Eischens yoga) lasted 75 minutes each. Before, during, and after the nine-week study, men were asked to rate their fatigue, as well as sexual and urinary symptoms.

Men in the yoga group reported improving or stabilizing symptom scores over time, whereas men in the non-yoga group reported worsening symptoms. According to the study authors, yoga improves erectile and urinary function by strengthening core muscles and improving blood flow. They urged men to keep an open mind and to look for a yoga group and instructor with whom they feel comfortable.

Eischens yoga addresses imbalances and weakness resulting from injuries or habits by improving alignments and muscle stimulation or relaxation. With its emphasis on self-awareness and self-healing, students experience a transformation that is helpful to create more energetic poses and better alignments.

The yogic "locks" of the body are not asanas, per se, they are binds or muscle contractions that make poses more effective and enhance your control of energy. Mula bandha is the root lock, in which you engage the muscles of your pelvic floor.

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee
Vice President CMAAO
Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications

President Heart Care Foundation of India

Immediate Past National President IMA

MTNL Perfect Health Mela from 23rd October

Addressing a press conference, Padma Shri and Dr. B C Roy National Awardee, Dr K K Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India said that the 20^th MTNL Perfect Health Mela scheduled to be held at Constitution Club of India, New Delhi will be a perfect health picnic spot for the general public. 

 Co-addressing the Press Conference Mr GP Sinha GM (Mktg) MTNL; Sh Vinod Kumar, GM Operation MTNL Delhi, Dr NK Yadav, MHO, South Delhi, Medical Corporation; Dr. PK Sharma, MOH, NDMC; Dr NV Kamat, Director, Health Services, Delhi; and Sr representatives from Central Bank of India said that people should visit in large numbers and treat the day as a Health Picnic Day.  Schools should also send their students to Perfect Health Mela under their annual picnic scheme. 

Mr Shankar Sahni star attraction of the day said that entertainment evenings at the venue will either focus on health or will be intercept with healthy practices.

The Mela will be a unique combination of competitions, entertainment, check-ups, workshops and practical demonstration using infotainment modules under one room.  The Mela will create awareness about all aspects of health for the public from all walks of life incorporating all pathies using low cost infotainment modules. 

The Mela is being organized by the Heart Care Foundation of India in association with MTNL, LIC, Central Bank of India, GAIL, and many Departments of Central and Delhi Government.  There will be more than 30 stalls of the Dept. of COHAND under the Ministry of Textiles for people to do their Diwali shopping.

Being a festive season, there will be special arrangements for training and workshops for the public on how to diagnose adulteration of food at home.

There will be a special workshop on clarifying myths behind magic and miracles.  There will be also be an opportunity for the general public to have interactions with doctors from all systems of medicine i.e. Allopathy, Ayurveda, Unani, Homoeopathy, Naturopathy and Yoga under one roof and get preventive diagnostic care.  There will be sessions where doctors from all systems of medicine will sit together and diagnose.

Special arrangements will be made to create awareness about financial health by LIC and Central Bank of India.  A special emphasis will be on how to manage finance when there is a financial need during medical treatment.  There will be special workshop on Reverse Mortgage where a person above the age of 60 can mortgage his or her property and get money in installments for which he has to pay nothing till he or she dies.

With the continuing dengue problem in the city, there will be special arrangements for educating public on how to identify and tackle dengue mosquito.  There will be special OPDs for dengue patients and treatment under all pathies. 

The Mela will also have a seminar where spiritual gurus will sit together and discuss on spiritual communication and life after death. 

Entry to the Mela for the general public will be free and every person visiting the Mela will be provided with training on how to revive a person after sudden cardiac death. 

There will be special seminar on Allopathy, Homoeopathy, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Yoga and Unani cardiology for doctors from all pathies.