Dr Mahmood A. Khwaja
Dawn
Published Date: Feb 26, 2015
New dental course
THIS refers to the joint press conference by the Pakistan Medical and
Dental Council (PMDC) and the Higher Education Commissions (HEC) heads.
They announced that both organisations were joining hands to revise a 10-year-old dental curriculum to bring it up to international standards.
Studies
on mercury contamination in five cities of Pakistan reveal the absence of topics in the dental curriculum related to health and environment impacts resulting from mercury exposure.
There is a dire need for
teaching and training upcoming professional dentists in non-mercury based dental fillings, encapsulated and mechanical mixing methodologies,
environmentally-sound management of mercury-contaminated wastes at dental sites and health hazards to dental health staff, arising from prolonged and continuous mercury exposure.
It is most strongly recommended to the PMDC and HEC to include these and other relevant topics in the revised dental curriculum for safeguarding public health, especially of the vulnerable population, i.e. children, pregnant women and dental health-care staff.
The Minamata Convention on mercury, adopted last year by over 140 states and signed by 128 countries (including Pakistan), encourages the phasing down the use of dental mercury amalgam and educating and training dental professionals and students on the use of mercury-free dental restoration alternatives.
Source : http://www.dawn.com/news/1165912/new-dental-course