Toothache to get more bearable, BMC's planning cheaper dental clinics

A dentist's hefty bill often proves to be more painful than toothache itself. Hopefully we will get some relief from this soon, with the BMC planning to revamp and restart its 24 defunct dental clinics in the city.

After non-communicable diseases, the civic body has now shifted focus to strengthening its dental healthcare infrastructure. "We will be starting the 24 clinics soon. Dental care is very expensive. But these clinics will be cost effective," said Dr Anuradha Pednekar, standing committee member.

The BMC will also be starting dental out door patient services in all its peripheral hospitals soon. "With the rise in lifestyle-related diseases, dental problems are also on a rise. In private hospitals, dental treatment is very costly. We therefore decided to strengthen our dental care infrastructure," said Pednekar.

According to sources, BMC's dental clinics went defunct after dentists appointed on a part-time basis stopped turning up. Many clinics either didn't have the required infrastructure or the equipment was not functional. The BMC then drew up a list of such clinics and looked into the reasons behind them not functioning. "The part-time dentists were paid only Rs 4,500. We are discussing the possibility of increasing this to up to Rs 15,000 so that more dentists come forward," said Pednekar.

The BMC is also looking into the option of making the students of Nair Dental college work in these clinics on a bond-basis.