Maxfax: An open letter to the Hon. Minister for Health and Family Welfare

Sir,

This letter is a reflection of the angst that has preoccupied the minds of thousands of professionals in the field of dentistry. Over the last decade and a half, dentistry has suffered enormously at the hands of several persons who have been running the Dental Council of India and the Health Ministry. The profession has become a burden to thousands of young people who have chosen it, believing that it would give them a meaningful role in society and a means to a stable economic career. The unprecedented and totally unplanned increase in colleges and seats has caused an irreversible glut in the profession leaving hundreds of unemployed dentists and specialists. Many have abandoned the profession resulting in an unforgivable waste of human resources. All this was done to feed the business interests of certain persons who run private institutions as a pure business with the help of the statutory bodies- indeed an unholy nexus!

We appreciate the initiatives being taken by the government and the judiciary to revamp the medical statutory bodies. Dentistry is perhaps the worst. In this regard I wish to bring to your notice the fact that the Dental Council of India continues to be run through the agency of corrupt members, nepotism and poor governance. It is a sad reflection on the Health Ministry that despite numerous petitions pointing out the illegal membership of the President and several members, no action has been taken against them. The nomination of the President of DCI Dr Dibeyendu Mazumdar to is flawed ab initio as also that of several others. Despite overwhelming evidence produced by several persons and pending cases challenging such nominations, the health ministry has done little to correct the situation. Nothing short of disbanding the DCI and reconstituting it anew will solve the continuing problems faced by the profession.

Sir, there has to be

1. A complete moratorium on new dental colleges and increase of seats in under graduation and post graduation, because of the super saturation by poorly qualified dentists.

2. The quality of students entering and exiting the institutions have to be monitored through appropriate examinations in the interest of public safety.

3. The complete administration of the profession has to be revamped to remove illegal members and prevent concentration of power in the hands of a few. This has to start by sacking all the illegal members, starting with president. It is after all the Health Ministry that has been tasked with the job of constituting all the statutory bodies. It has to be their responsibility to dissolve and reconstitute when it becomes unbearable.

Looking forward to a speedy reaction from your ministry.

I remain

Sincerely

George Paul