To be a dentist or not to be a dentist? It's rather easy to assume that since we meet our dentist only once in six months, and that we are able to find a dental clinic close by to where we live, especially those who live in the city, be it private or public, that we have more than enough Dentist and that doing a Dental Degree would mean hunting for a job after graduation. But factually this is incorrect and is certainly not the case within Malaysia itself.
In a
recent article published in The STAR entitled “Do We Have Enough Dentists” by
University Malaya’s Professor Dr Rahimah Abdul Kadir, a registered Dental Public Health Specialist
and Adjunct Professor, it is said that there is a grave
shortage of dentists in the country. For our population of an estimated 32.7
million, there are only about 11,000 dentists currently. This means there is
one dentist to serve five thousand people in West Malaysia and one dentist to
serve eleven thousand people in Sabah and Sarawak. The lack of accessibility in
certain remote areas of Sabah and Sarawak does not help either.
Professor
Dr Rahimah goes on to say that this extreme discrepancy between dentists and
their patients is further exacerbated by the fact that the majority of
Malaysians suffer from oral diseases and other related illnesses. She says that
94% of adults suffer from infectious oral diseases, 40% to 70% of primary and
secondary school students suffer from painful cavities, and eight to ten teeth
in young children are infected.
Professor Dr Rahimah says that according to
recent research, there is a link between missing teeth and colorectal cancer, while
other issues such as an increase in the incidence of oral cancer, jaw and
facial bone fractures, and oral-mental health problems associated with modern lifestyles
that are causing grave concern among dentists. For example, while smoking increases
the risk of lung cancer, it can also lead to oral cancer, and Professor Dr Rahimah
says that about 4.7 million males are smokers.
Poor oral health is a contributor to chronic
diseases, including diabetes, and heart and respiratory diseases, and this has
prompted a significant change in the curriculum of dental education, and dental
students are now required to learn internal medicine and the holistic
management of general diseases.
Professor Dr Rahimah is clear on the fact
that not only is there an alarming shortage of dentists in the country, but
also, the general public should be educated about the importance of regular
dental visits and encouraged take an active part to contribute to their own
dental wellness. The professor also adds that more has to be done to prepare
the country for its ageing population requiring special medical services and
stresses the need for a review of the dental curriculum.
Professor Dr Rahimah also quotes the recent
GIS study’s suggestion for the relevant policy-making agencies to make holistic
reviews on issues of professional maldistribution and mis-location, to increase
facilities, manpower and accessibility, to optimise services, among others. She
adds that it is time to find a way to motivate students to pursue dental
education at both basic and specialty levels. Also, the fact that private
clinics are more saturated in major cities with higher population densities may
no longer be an issue in the future when Malaysia acquires the developed nation
status, which will reduce the gap between accessibility and affordability for dental
visits.
The professor concluded her article with her call for a major shift in the country’s perspective on churning out more dentists to serve the entire nation. So back to our initial question, to be a dentist or not to be a dentist? The facts speak for itself and there's no doubt in the demand for more superheroes in oral health especially knowing that the role of a dentist goes way beyond the usual biyearly check-ups and scaling, dental specialists are highly required to address the more serious cases of oral diseases within the country and this is a field worth tapping into if you aspire to make a humble difference in the life of another individual.
For
more information on Doctor of Dental Surgery in MAHSA University,
Visit: www.mahsa.edu.my or call us at 1800-88-0300
Words by: Jennifer F. Netto