Barely six to seven per cent of India’s population seeks the help of a dentist when faced with any dental problem, said Dr Ashok Dhable, Secretary General of the Indian Dental Association (IDA) here.
Pointing out that the percentage of people seeking help for dental issues is abysmally low, he said it needs to be improved to at least 15 per cent.
Dr Dhable, who was speaking at the inaugural programme of the 39th State conference of the IDA at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA), said children should be taught the need for proper dental care at an early age. Therefore, there is the need for a national school oral health programme.
Dr Dibyendu Mazumdar, President of Dental Council of India (DCI), said there are 370 dental colleges in India which have more than three lakh dental surgeons.
He stressed on the need for a national taskforce for proper implementation of the dental curriculum.
The programme was presided over by SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof Pradipta Kumar Nanda.
