The Dental Council of India's decision to not sanction any new colleges in the country has angered the Maharashtra government, which has been struggling to get more dentists to rural areas. Of the total 25,000 dentists in the state, only 4,000 serve in rural areas.
The DCI believes there is no need for new colleges as there are adequate number of dentists in the country. But Maharashtra fares poorly on this count.
"There is absolutely no penetration of dentists in the interiors of Maharashtra. The small number of dentists in rural areas are all at the taluka and district levels, and there is zero presence in remote villages and padas," said Dr Pravin Shingare, who heads the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER).
He added that the state government was drafting a strongly-worded letter to the DCI, listing all the relevant statistics. "We will send the letter in the next few days," he said.
Maharashtra has one civic-run, three government-run and 40 private dental colleges. A new state-run dental college is being planned in Washim district and two private institutions are also in the pipeline. The DCI's stand means the colleges may not get approval.
The council is already sitting on over 40 proposals for dental colleges across the country. "DCI is the apex body and without its permission, no dental college can be started. It should consider special cases like Maharashtra," Shingare said. "The joint director of the dental stream is collating the data of how many more dental colleges are needed in Maharashtra. The data will be ready in the next 10 days."
He added that dental care was important not only for oral hygiene, but also for the early detection of oral cancers.
According to doctors, majority of oral cancer cases are reported in rural areas because of high tobacco consumption. Apart from the consumption of smokeless tobacco, the use of 'masheri' (tobacco roasted and then powdered), an indigenous alternative to toothpaste, also puts residents of rural areas at cancer risk.
Of the 10 lakh tobacco-related deaths in the country year, 1 lakh are reported in Maharashtra.
The state receives a number of applications for dental posts, but most aspirants don't want to practise in rural areas. "The moment we announce a new post, we get hundreds of applications. There are hardly any private dentists in the interiors. The moment we create a competitive environment, they will start practising there," Shingare said.
The DCI believes there is no need for new colleges as there are adequate number of dentists in the country. But Maharashtra fares poorly on this count.
"There is absolutely no penetration of dentists in the interiors of Maharashtra. The small number of dentists in rural areas are all at the taluka and district levels, and there is zero presence in remote villages and padas," said Dr Pravin Shingare, who heads the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER).
He added that the state government was drafting a strongly-worded letter to the DCI, listing all the relevant statistics. "We will send the letter in the next few days," he said.
Maharashtra has one civic-run, three government-run and 40 private dental colleges. A new state-run dental college is being planned in Washim district and two private institutions are also in the pipeline. The DCI's stand means the colleges may not get approval.
The council is already sitting on over 40 proposals for dental colleges across the country. "DCI is the apex body and without its permission, no dental college can be started. It should consider special cases like Maharashtra," Shingare said. "The joint director of the dental stream is collating the data of how many more dental colleges are needed in Maharashtra. The data will be ready in the next 10 days."
He added that dental care was important not only for oral hygiene, but also for the early detection of oral cancers.
According to doctors, majority of oral cancer cases are reported in rural areas because of high tobacco consumption. Apart from the consumption of smokeless tobacco, the use of 'masheri' (tobacco roasted and then powdered), an indigenous alternative to toothpaste, also puts residents of rural areas at cancer risk.
Of the 10 lakh tobacco-related deaths in the country year, 1 lakh are reported in Maharashtra.
The state receives a number of applications for dental posts, but most aspirants don't want to practise in rural areas. "The moment we announce a new post, we get hundreds of applications. There are hardly any private dentists in the interiors. The moment we create a competitive environment, they will start practising there," Shingare said.
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