(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI)
IT IS A common practice in the country: the installation of braces by unlicensed and unskilled persons. It is a practice also common in Iloilo City.
So common, in fact, that it led the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) last August to pass an ordinance regulating the sale of dental materials and supplies in the city.
Dental materials like braces are commonly available to the public without any prescription or authorization.
It alarmed the Iloilo Chapter of the Philippine Dental Association (PDA) and members quickly urged the city council to pass the ordinance.
Violators of the ordinance will face the following penalties:
* first offense – a fine of P2,500 and a notice of closure of business establishment from the City Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) and/or the City Health Office; and
* second offense – a fine of P5,000 and closure of business establishment
Members of the PDA have seen too many patients seeking oral health care attention for issues with their teeth that have become infected. When asked which dentist they have consulted, they couldn’t say and it turned out these were people in illegal practice. Then they go to legitimate and licensed dentists.
The new ordinance will go a long way to stop the illegal or unlicensed so-called dentists doing the unauthorized practice, as well as the do-it-yourself method of installing braces, said Dr. Ma. Solidad J. Grecia of PDA-Iloilo.
“There are a lot of illegal practitioners who are clearly unauthorized, practicing inside their houses,” she said. “There are those who are graduates of dental school but are not licensed.”
For the patient’s protection and safety, it is important to seek the help of licensed dentists, Grecia emphasized. “I have seen cases whose teeth are in very bad condition, and there was nothing to do but pull them out, the only option left.”
The public need to be properly aware that only licensed dentists are competent and authorized to perform dental procedures, she added.
Republic Act 9484 or An Act to Regulate the Practice of Dentistry, Dental Hygiene, and Dental Technology in the Philippines states that “a person must be a holder of a Certificate of Registration and Professional Identification in Dentistry in order to perform dental procedures within the patient’s oral cavity or for that matter, any other acts constituting the practice of dentistry.”
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim, Ed. D., is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology; and Founding Chairman of the Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines, College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate Professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; Member, American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Fellow, Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com./PN
