The Star, February 14, 2008
Get your facts right, doc
MEDICAL Doctor in his letter “Dental visits a pain in the pocket” (The Star, Feb 13) does not even know the duties of a dental surgeon and a dental technician.
A dental surgeon graduates with a “Bachelor of Dental Surgery” degree and is conferred with the title Doctor while a dental student studies anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, dental materials, pathology, microbiology, pharmacology, medicine, surgery and all other dental subjects in a dental college.
The RM7,000 to RM9,000 fee is still cheap for a single dental implant. The cost to set up a dental surgery with implantology varies from RM500,000 to RM1mil or more. The material costs and laboratory charges are equally high.
The procedure for doing a dental implant is not simple. It is a high precision procedure and needs lots of training before the dental surgeon can provide such treatment. It is not just a case of cut and fix.
All dental surgeons providing dental implant treatment have undergone intensive training and attended courses and meetings like the latest Osstem Meeting 2007 at KLCC on Nov 25 last year.
Here are my replies to some of the suggestions raised in the letter:
> The Malaysian Dental Council together with the Health Ministry have set the range of dental charges for basic dental treatment under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act. Dental specialist charges have not as yet been imposed.
> All dental surgeons providing dental implants and any other dental treatment quote the treatment charges prior to starting the treatment and patients are forewarned of any other charges that may occur during the procedure should any deviation of treatment arise.
> Technicians are not surgeons. They only fabricate the implants, crowns, bridges, dentures and splints in their laboratories.
> All dental surgeons doing dental implants are fully aware of any medical emergencies that may arise and are well prepared for it. So far, not a single emergency has occurred for a dental surgeon to require a defibrillator, a heart monitor, a pulse oxymeter or an ECG machine.
> Should such a need arise, the dental surgeon will either call for medical help or take the patient himself to the nearest medical centre.
> A dental surgeon providing dental implant treatment has attended courses and is proficient in his expertise. Not all dental surgeons provide dental implant treatment.
Medical Doctor should get his facts correct before alarming the public unnecessarily. If you cannot afford an expensive car, you should buy a cheaper car according to your budget.
The Malaysian dental surgeons are doing a very good service to the public.
Vice-President,
Malaysian Private Dental Practitioners Association, Kuala Lumpur.
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