When seeking dental care, persons are being warned to ensure that they do so at facilities registered with the Dental Council of Guyana. This caution comes even as the body seeks to inform the public that “there are many ‘quacks’ who are working on patients in their private residences, which is against the laws of Guyana.”
“This practice is dangerous to your health because the ‘quacks’ have no training and have no concept of infection control or sterilisation,” the Council shared in a public notice. It is, moreover, imperative, the Council advised, that persons seek to be attended to only by qualified dentists who are duly registered. The only way to ensure this, the Council said, is to ask to see the dentist’s registration certification which should be prominently displayed in his/her office.
The Council has also advised the public that while dental technicians are registered to make dentures (false teeth), crowns and bridges with specific instructions from a dentist, they are not authorised to provide other dental care to patients. Moreover, it was asserted that “they are not allowed to do extractions, fillings, root canals, cleanings or any surgical procedure whatsoever in a patient’s mouth.”
The Dental Council has, moreover, made available a list of dentists registered to work in Guyana. To find out if your neighbourhood ‘dentist’ is registered to practice, persons can make contact with the Dental Council on telephone number: 225-0702.
