JDA, JAPDENS see crisis in low dentistry employment
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE JAMAICA Dental Association (JDA) and the Jamaica Association of Public Dental Surgeons (JAPDENS) are both voicing concern about the low employment rate in Jamaica’s dentistry industry, with the issue being viewed as a crisis for the country’s level of dental health provision.
JDA President Dr Shaka Cooke and JAPDENS President Dr Vanessa Kiffin spoke to the issue during the JDA’s 60th annual dental convention at the Royalton Blue Waters Hotel in Corral Spring, Trelawny, last Wednesday.
In a media interview during the convention, Cooke stated that there are not enough dentists or dental hygienists employed at dental clinics across Jamaica, an issue his organisation wants the Government to address urgently.
“We have a very low employment rate right now, so you have a challenge where many dental offices cannot get trained staff to come into the profession to work as dental assistants, dental front desk managers, or otherwise work in the office. The whole profession is having a crisis in terms of attracting persons to come and work in these offices,”said Cooke.
INCREASED NUMBER OF POSTS TO BETTER SERVE
“We think, as an association, that there needs to be more posts for dentists and dental hygienists in the government sector. A lot of these dental clinics are underserved, as they don’t have enough manpower to treat the need that is out there,” Cooke added.
“We are also going to lobby the Government so that, for example, if Trelawny only has three posts for dental surgeons, that should go up to five, or if Montego Bay only has six posts, to bring that up to eight, so the public can be better served by dentists. One dentist doesn’t have to see 40 people in one day; the work can be divided and more people can get access to dental care.”
In 2019, it was reported that an additional 900 dentists were needed to complement Jamaica’s cohort of 302 registered dentists. At that time, as well, there were 250 registered dental hygienists in Jamaica.
Meanwhile, Kiffin told the conference that the prohibitive cost of training specialists and the proposed salaries serve as barriers to more dental surgeons entering the profession.
“To become a dental surgeon is very expensive, and it is only since 2010 that we started training dental surgeons in Jamaica. Previously, persons would have to be trained abroad, and more so to the fact is that it is still not possible for you to become a specialist in Jamaica. There is no subsidiary from the Government to become a dentist,” said Kiffin.
“One of the things that JAPDENS and the JDA are concerned with is how we can recruit and attract people to the service, as that is of critical importance. Once they become surgeons, the pay needs to be something that people can pay their student loans with. It is paramount that we address the critical inadequacies of the public services,” Kiffin added.
In 2021, more than 100 dental assistants across Jamaica’s four health regions took protest action relating to the non-payment of a four percent salary increase that was due to them over the 2019 to 2020 period, along with other allowances to include a uniform allowance which was outstanding from as far back as 2018.