Scarcity of dental specialists

In a country with a population of over 11 million people, there are only 11 specialised dentists and the status of dental infections is unknown, although there are other general practitioners who also deal in dental care in the country.

Saturday, July 07, 2012
A dentist attending to a patient at KHI. The New Times / Timothy Kisambira.

In a country with a population of over 11 million people, there are only 11 specialised dentists and the status of dental infections is unknown, although there are other general practitioners who also deal in dental care in the country.According to Jean de Dieu Ngirabega, the Director of Clinical Services, in the Ministry of Health, there are close to 14 foreign dentists in the country. He noted that more were being trained from within and outside the country."There is a department of Dentistry at King Health Institute and we are working closely with them to work with other hospitals and other medical schools in order to increase the number of dentists in the country,” he said.Ngirabega also noted that they are working with several projects to help train more dental medics and also help the general public to learn more about dental care while addressing their dental issues as well.He added that one group, Bridge2Aid and two other charities which are run by volunteers from the UK’s Conservative Party, and Survivors Fund, will be arriving in the country this week to carry out training sessions and treatment for people with dental problems.The British dental charity, Bridge2Aid, enhanced its expertise in treating and training people in deprived rural areas of Tanzania.