Dentists need better customer protection
When GSK recently announced that it is to remove zinc from their denture creams, there was outcry from customer protection agencies around the world. Almost at the same time, a US website warned that asbestos fibres found in some dental products can be harmful to dentists. No outcry was heard from the dental community.
Similar to most health professionals, dentists have to face an array of hazards in their daily working lives. These are in the form of not only infectious diseases, but also substances found in dental materials and equipment that pose threats to dentists. Although these threats are not acute, studies have demonstrated that long-term exposure has the potential to damage their health.
Dentists traditionally place much trust in manufacturers, mainly because they have become comfortable using a certain product throughout their career and are hesitant to change. However, they should become more aware that they too are customers and if something seems odd, questions should be raised.
If products can be made safer for the health of the masses, they can certainly be made safer for professionals.
Dentists are having a hard time
How is your practice doing? If the answer to this question is ‘fine’, chances are high that you are living in a part of the world where people still visit their dentist on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for all members of the profession. Latest reports suggest that more and more patients around the world are postponing their dental visits due to recession-related financial problems. In the UK, for example, almost one million less people have had their teeth checked since 2006. More than 60 per cent of 1,000 adults in the US have also cut back on dental visits (see also Americans cut down on dental visits) and similar reports are now coming from Australia. These numbers are of significant proportions. They not only indicate a considerable loss of income for dentists and perhaps even the closing of some dental offices, they are also a setback for those who are constantly fighting to bring the oral health message into the minds and attitudes of people. Whether these reports are drawing a realistic picture or not, they certainly demonstrate that many people do not consider their oral health as something to watch over at the moment. Organisations like the World Dental Federation or the WHO have tried to raise awareness for the need of dental care to be an essential part of primary health care services in the last few years. Unfortunately, their achievements could be in vain since governments are changing their priorities and leaving health behind in order to balance national budgets. Therefore, joint efforts of politicians, health care professionals and, up and foremost, dentists are necessary to convince people to invest in their oral health again. Free dental missions may be a good tool to help a few people but they are like giving lessons to a child that doesn’t want to learn. Out of sight is out of mind.
