Telangana: Dentists demand establishment of dental departments in all Govt medical colleges

On Tuesday, members of All India Dental Students and Surgeons Association (AIDSA) met the Director of Medical Education (DME) and submitted a memorandum, urging the State government to establish exclusive dental departments in medical colleges as mandated under National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines.

Hyderabad: Students pursuing Bachelor and Masters in Dental Surgery (BDS) and (MDS) and senior dental surgeons urged the State government to create dental departments and appoint qualified manpower in all the government medical colleges across Telangana.

Except for Gandhi Hospital and Osmania Medical College, none of the other tertiary medical colleges in the State have dedicated dental teaching and treatment departments. As a result, patients who cannot afford treatment at private dental care facilities, are forced to come to Hyderabad for treatment at Government Dental College, Afzalgunj.

---

On Tuesday, members of All India Dental Students and Surgeons Association (AIDSA) met the Director of Medical Education (DME) and submitted a memorandum, urging the State government to establish exclusive dental departments in medical colleges as mandated under National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines.

As per the guidelines, every medical college with an intake of 100 MBBS students must have a dedicated department of Dentistry with at least one Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Junior Resident and four Dental Technicians.

“At present, Telangana has 38 government medical colleges and we urge the government to establish fully functional dental units as per NMC guidelines,” the AIDSA said.

The integration of dental departments in medical colleges is essential to provide comprehensive training to future doctors, equipping them with the knowledge to identify and refer oral health issued effectively, they said.

“Such departments can cater to the oral healthcare needs of the local population, especially in rural and underserved areas,” Dr MD Manzur Ahmed, national president, AIDSA, said.