The Dental Association of T&T has sounded an alarm over hundreds of unregistered dentists, including migrants, who are also operating without qualification.
Yesterday, president of the association Dr Sanjay Ramnanan said many unregistered people are offering cheap dental services.
While getting braces from a registered dentist in T&T can amount to $30,000, some people have been advertising the procedure for $1,500 to $2,000.
But, this has only led to an increase in patients suffering from gum diseases.
Ramnanan said, “A lot of citizens are getting fooled by the prices because they are seeing these lower, lower prices and they are also seeing convenience ... People are working out of their hair salons and they are telling you, ‘Come, we will do a whitening for you one time or come and we will put on veneers for you’ but you’re working out of a barbershop.”
“We all see patients and they’re coming in with rampant infections. One of the most prevalent infections that we’re seeing from patients who go by these unregistered individuals, it would be gum disease. You have patients that are coming in with swollen gums, puffy gums, red, bleeding,” he added.
He said, after seeing these “quack dentists”, patients end up right back at the registered clinics.
However, the chairman of the Dental Council Dr Dharmendra Rohit said they have no power to address the issue.
“The board itself, we have the power to deal with registered dentists because if you’re not registered with us, then we don’t have any power to at least address that issue ... if there is a complaint, the complaint has to go through the police and the police has to investigate it. Then they have to do a process through the DPP office before the dental board could get involved to assist in prosecuting that person and the likelihood of a police officer investigating a complaint of a patient who went to a quack or an unregistered dentist in these days of the other crime issues we have, I don’t think it’s going to be a high priority,” he said.
Giving tips on how to look out for a fake dentist, Ramnanan said, “You look for certificates. One big, tell tale sign is if the person is telling you that they can’t sign a prescription, they can’t sign your insurance forms, that’s a major red flag right there.”
The association is now calling on Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh to immediately step in.
But Deyalsingh said while he is concerned about the issue of fake doctors, it is not his responsibility and instead directed us to Singh, head of the medical board.
However, according to Singh, the board cannot police unregistered persons.
Singh said while the board could take people to court, it does not have investigative manpower like TTPS.
“We don’t have the necessary resources to run down these non-doctors. All we can do is go to the police and the police is swamped with fraud cases,” he said.
Guardian Media reported, recently, that several groups including the Diabetes Association and the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society complained of people purporting to be medical practitioners making claims of having the cure for several diseases including cancer.
The Medical Board of Trinidad and Tobago (MBTT) has also raised concerns about the increasing number of unregistered and fake doctors operating illegally in the country. MBTT president Dr Neil Singh confirmed there are five reports currently before the Fraud Squad and more cases are being compiled.