Srinagar, May 19 (KNS): Expressing strong resentment over no appointment of dental surgeons in Jammu and Kashmir’s health department over the past 15 years JKPC Youth General Secretary, Mudasir Karim said amid a shortage of dentists across public hospitals which is taking a toll on the oral health care services while as the most of the state-run hospitals are looked by paramedical staff.

Mudasir in a statement, issued to Kashmir News Service (KNS) said that the unemployed dental surgeons of J&K, who have passed their professional courses from state dental colleges, and national and international Universities have on many occasions raised their demand before the government for the creation and advertisement of posts for dental surgeons but the government seems to have a deaf ear on this subject.

He added that no dental surgeon post has been created by JKPSC since 2008 while a file regarding this issue is also pending in the civil secretariat which is doing rounds for the past many years but bearing no result as such.

He said primary oral health care services have taken a hit due to inadequate facilities and poor manpower in rural hospitals like PHCs, CHCs, SDHs and district hospitals of Jammu & Kashmir and these unemployed dental surgeons who are struggling to find their means of living and many of them are thinking of leaving the profession to find their survival through other means of business like coffee shops, boutiques etc.

“Having no clear cut vacancies in hospitals the students are as such showing less interest in making dentistry their career. The government itself even failed to create the vacancies for oral health to overhaul this sector so far. As a result, more than 6000 BDS and nearly 1000 MDS students are still waiting in J&K to get employment opportunities to fill the shortage in hospitals to lessen the economic burden on the general public as the oral health procedures are much costlier in private,” he said. (KNS)