KOCHI: Dental hygienists, who play a major role in dental care, are yet to be recognised in Kerala. So much so, that many posts still lie vacant in many dental clinics. Experts point out that despite the improvements in the standards of dental care world over, the post of dental hygienists in state still follows the duties as defined half-a- century back.
“We still follow the duties as defined 1963 and thus the hygienists only have limited duties,” said Ajaykumar, dental hygienist and secretary, Kerala Dental Hygienists Association.“Actually, a revision will bring down the workload of the dentists’ and will give more working area for hygienists,” he added.
In 2007, P K Sreemati had assigned Dr Mohan Nair Commission to look into the posts in the dental care sector and possible increased duties for the dental hygienists. The report had suggested a reform of the duties associated with the post of a dental hygienist. The Commission also advised creating the post of dental counsellors in taluk hospitals, district-level dental technical assistants and the state-level dental health evaluation officer to create more awareness about the dental health issues.
However, even after 11 years, the Commissions’ recommendations have not seen daylight.Experts point out that these recommendations can be achieved without any additional financial constraints to the state exchequer as most who work as dental hygienists now get paid up to Rs 40,000 per month based on their seniority.
World over, dental hygienists play a crucial role as a primary resource for screening and prevention of oral cancer.They are also trained to assess a patient’s condition in order to offer preventive and educational aid and thus promote oral health. They also do procedures like scaling, root planning and periodontal therapy.
“In the state, there are 159 government dental hospitals and all of them have surgeons. However, there are only 123 dental hygienists. There is an evident gap of 36 more posts. Even in hospitals with surgeons, procedures including cleaning do not happen,” added Ajaykumar.
Suggestions ignored
The Dr Mohan Nair Commission formed to look into posts in dental care and possible increased duties for dental hygienists had suggested a reform of duties associated with the post.
It also advised creating the post of dental counsellors in taluk hospitals, district-level dental technical assistants and others
However, even after 11 years, the recommendations have not seen daylight