Dentists laud changes to X-ray bill

The Dental Council yesterday welcomed the National Legislative Assembly’s first reading of two amendments to the Radiation and Nuclear Regulation Bill, saying any delay would undermine the standard of dental treatment.

Paisal Kangwalkij, president of the Dental Council, thanked the lawmakers for speeding up the vetting of the proposed amendments which sought to exempt dental X-ray machines from the bill.

Under the drafts, which passed their first reading by the NLA last Friday, dental X-ray devices would be under the supervision of the Public Health Ministry and special radiology experts would not be required to control them.

According to Mr Paisal, a committee vetting the two amendments is expected to complete its examination of them before the end of the year.

He said the 15-member committee would focus on three elements including the separation of the roles the Public Health Ministry and the Ministry of Science and Technology should take.

The Public Health Ministry will enforce the regulations on the use of the X-ray machines in dental treatments while the Ministry of Science and Technology will oversee the registration and use of radiological instruments for any other purposes.

Another contentious element in the bills involved a fine of 100,000 baht for those who fail to register dental X-ray machines, he said, adding that health personnel believed the fine was hefty.

However, Mr Paisal said these elements did not affect the principles of the bill, so the differences should be resolved without a hassle.

Earlier, dentists across the country were up in arms against a proposal in the bills that every dental clinic must hire a radiology expert to control dental X-ray machines with violators threatened with five years in jail or a 500,000 baht fine.

The group insisted that the curbs were not necessary because the risk to patients and staff who work with such equipment is negligible.

A group of 41 NLA members responded to t he dentists’ demands by drafting the latest amendments to alleviate their concerns.