Candidates of the upcoming polls puts forward the need to set up more public dental clinics in the Kingdom
It may sound strange. But one hot topic that dominates the electoral agenda of candidates in the upcoming polls is the need to set up more public dental clinics in the Kingdom. The Kingdom has only 47 public dental clinics and it meant one clinic for 5,521 patients, according to Health Ministry sources. The scarcity of both these clinics and dental doctors has led to long queues for patients; at least one month time after fixing the appointment for consulting a dentist, while surgical interventions may take even a year’s waiting, the sources say. Many citizens are upset over the dental care system here with some even comparing it to the long wait for housing units. They say treatments at private clinics are very much expensive, which is beyond their financial capabilities.
Speaking to Tribune, citizen Mohammed Anwar said, “Last week I want to consult a dental doctor after suffering a tooth ache and was referred to King Hamad Hospital. I was asked to wait for three months before consulting a doctor. “As I couldn’t bear the pain, I rushed to a private clinic, where I had to spent BD140 for a simple procedure that did not even take half an hour.”
The Health Ministry said last March that it is examining a proposal by the House of Representatives to increase the number of doctors at public dental clinics across the Kingdom apart from extending their working hours.
However, only ten dental doctors were appointed until June, while there are many Bahraini dental doctors who are unemployed. Sources say there are 113 qualified unemployed dental doctors who are Bahrainis. Sources say that the ministry is citing budgetary reasons to recruit more dental doctors, while dental patients are suffering after being lined up on queues for months. Dental doctors are available, but ministry is not offering them jobs, they added.
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