A Dental technologist at the University of Ghana (UG) Dental School, Mrs Adwoba Amoah Quaye, has observed that many of the dental laboratories in the country are not fully equipped to ensure effective dental care.
She said the lack of modern equipment did not help in facilitating the work of dental technologists.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Paradental Association of Ghana in Accra, Mrs Quaye said, “As times change, most hospitals would want to update their laboratories with modern dental equipment and materials and when this happens, what will happen to the technologist who has never seen or touched such modern equipment before?”
Paradentals consist of dental therapists, dental surgery assistants and dental technologists who help in producing artificial restoration in the mouth, scaling and washing of teeth and assisting the dentist in the administration of his job.
One area of concern Mrs Quaye raised during the interview was the absence of even one dental technologist in the country with a masters or doctorate degree due to lack of sponsorship.
She said since their training in Nigeria as dental technologists in 1996, they had not received any further training , despite the fact that many of them had gained admission to further their education abroad.
She, therefore, appealed to the government to come to their aid in the form of sponsorship to help them further their education.
Delivering the keynote address, the acting Head of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Matthew Owusu Boamah, advised members of the association not to take their patients for granted, since many of the citizens knew their rights and would try to demand them at any time.
He said there was the need for paradentals to work as a team, since many of the patients who visited dentists had a lot of fear which sometimes resulted in the rising of their blood pressure.
For his part, the President of the association, Mr Felix Adu, appealed to the government to sponsor training programmes to help alleviate the general inadequacy among dental workers in the country.
He said there could be no complete dental care without the contribution of paradental staff.
He said the aim of the association was to help improve the general dental health of society which could be achieved if those in authority did not give it the necessary support.
Mr Adu said the meeting was to deliberate on how best the association could improve its skills in the course of its work.
Mrs Faustina Hayford, a dental therapist at the UG Dental School, advised parents not to give many sweets to their children, since they would result in tooth decay.
She also advised the public to brush their teeth frequently, imbibe the habit of using chewing sponge and see a dentist at least twice a year for healthy teeth.
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