Will there be a decision to double the number of dentists / dental monopoly teeth?

According to Fars News Agency Health Reporter, The issue of statistics, per capita, number and capacity of dental admissions in Iran on the one hand and its impact on reducing the staggering costs of oral health on the other hand, these days, again, has become a serious challenge. Dual has raised the admission capacity and per capita of the dentist against the quality of service and the price (cost) of dentistry.

In this regard, experts and officials in various fields, including the Ministry of Health, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, Parliament, trade unions and experts in this field, have different and even conflicting views on the need to increase or decrease the acceptance of dental capacity and its impact on services. , Both cost and quality. However, a large part of the society, especially in the current economic situation, is facing a lot of difficulties due to the high costs of dentistry, which depending on the type of demand, sometimes consuming salaries of one month or even more.

Regarding the recent decision of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution to increase the capacity of dentistry and the poor per capita situation of dentistry in the country, we spoke with Dr. Rezakhah, a member of the Program and Budget Committee of the parliament.

One of the most important issues in the current education system of the country is the issues related to the conflict of interests in determining the capacity to enter some fields such as medicine and dentistry, please comment on this issue.

Rezakhah: Yes, unfortunately, especially in some special professions such as law or medicine, due to the monopoly of entering such fields due to conflict of interest, the capacity of admission and acceptance is kept very low, which makes services expensive and also There has been a lack of quality improvement in service delivery. This issue has become one of the most important issues in our health system right now. Of course, with the entry of the Principle 90 Commission on this issue and the follow-up of our colleagues in the parliament, this year, God willing, according to the approvals of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, we will see an increase in the capacity of medicine and dentistry. 1401, implement the capacity increase envisaged by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, and we will see an increase in admission capacity in these popular disciplines.

Compared to other countries in the world and the region, Iran’s per capita dentistry is in a bad situation and is lower than countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. What problems has this created for people?

Rezakhah: It is also very unfortunate that Iran, despite the very high number of applicants for entrance exams in medicine and dentistry, due to the very low admission in the experimental and specialty entrance exams, we are witnessing the current unfavorable situation as countries such as Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Turkey also have lower per capita dentists. This issue must be answered by friends in the Ministry of Health, who, despite the remarkable superiority of Iran’s healthcare industry and health tourism, due to this monopoly, many opportunities are lost and proper services are not provided to the people of cities and villages. With the continuation of this wrong practice and considering the demographic pyramid of the country, cut off for sure, our country will face serious problems if the capacity of dentists and doctors is not increased.

The admission capacity of the dental field has decreased by about 25% from 1394 to 1400. What do you think is the reason for this and what effect will it have on people’s access to health services?

Rezakhah: There is definitely a conflict of interest in this field, every year the number of smart applicants and elite children of this country who apply to be accepted in fields such as dentistry is increasing, the country’s need for these fields is still increasing and the pyramid The country’s population also confirms this; Apart from the conflict of interests and benefiting from the created monopoly, there is no other reason to reduce the acceptance capacity between 1394 and 1400. In terms of the effects on health care, the high cost and sharp rise in dental costs for the people over the past few years is a clear indication of the deplorable situation.

Given the dire need for dental services and the Iranian society facing middle age and old age, what do you think will be the consequences of delaying the increase in medical admission capacity for the country?

Rezakhah: Yes, as I said, the problem of shortage of doctors and dentists due to the country’s population pyramid and the fact that people born in the sixties; They will reach middle age in the next decade, the need for health services will increase sharply, and in the same dental issue, the need for dental services will increase sharply, so the capacity of dentistry should increase from this year. And at least approach the world average per capita.

According to statistics, in the next 20 years, the elderly and middle-aged population of Iran will more than triple. The highest rate of dental injuries occurs in people over 40 years of age. Given the increase in the elderly population, what will be the change in the community’s need for dental services in the next few years?

Rezakhah: As mentioned, the issue of the urgent need for medical and dental services for those born in the sixties, the very high capacity of health tourism in the region, as well as ending the existing injustice in providing dental services to all parts of the country without focusing on major cities. And all indications are that the capacity of the dentist should be increased.

On the other hand, the demand for admission for this field is very high and both supply and demand are thirsty for capacity increase, but unfortunately, those in charge have neglected to increase capacity. Even when it comes to infrastructure, the welfare benefits of increasing the physician’s capacity for governance are very high, and the infrastructure must be provided. Of course, there is infrastructure now, and the situation is not worse than in the sixties and the time of the war, but surprisingly, the capacity of medical admissions has also decreased since that time!

The increase in the capacity of dental admissions has been approved by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, but it seems that the Ministry of Health has no intention of implementing this resolution. What measures does the parliament take to implement the resolution of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, and what will the parliament do if this increase does not happen by the council?

Rezakhah: This past week, a great event took place in the field of increasing medical capacity, when the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution approved that in the first year, 1401, the capacity of dental admissions be increased by 10%, and this increase has continued in subsequent years. To reach the capacity of 3900 dentists after 4 years from the current capacity of 1750. This and previous resolutions to increase the capacity of dentistry, medicine and specialty must be implemented by the Ministry of Health, and if not implemented, the parliament will take the necessary measures through its oversight arm.

According to Fars, according to the resolution of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, it should be seen that eventually the Ministry of Health will implement this resolution and the dental monopoly tooth will be pulled or by resisting the implementation of this resolution, the issue of increasing the number of dentists will be postponed.

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