The Dental Council of India should follow the example of the Medical Council of India and upgrade the curriculum in dental education, Mayil Vahanan Natarajan, Vice-Chancellor, the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University said on Sunday.
Inaugurating a skill update session on laser dentistry organised by the Indian Academy of Laser Dentistry (IALD), Dr. Natarajan said it was important to make medical and dental education contemporary and relevant for at least the next ten years.
The Dr. MGR University had commissioned Fellowships in various sub-specialities to develop expertise in niche areas and was open to the possibility of launching a programme in laser dentistry, he said. Noting that laser dentistry, with its benefits such as painless procedures, minimal wound and quicker post-operative healing, was a relatively new speciality, Dr. Natarajan said he intended to discuss with administrators of the Government General Hospital and private sector centres the scope for making the facility available to the common man.
In a special address, Chanchai Charanvatnakit, Royal Thai Consul General, Chennai, laser dentistry had the potential to remove the scare element and the pain factor that usually prevented patients from seeking timely treatment.
Suchetan Pradhan, founder-president, IALD, said the professional body aimed to promote the proper use of laser technology with evidence-based protocols.
The IALD, in collaboration with the Aachen University in Germany, had launched several basic and advanced training programmes in laser dentistry, he said.
Yashwanth Kumar Venkataraman, co-convener for the Chennai conference, said lasers had the potential to revolutionise dentistry across specialities, especially as affordability of laser procedures was an advantage. The benefits included absence of sutures, local anaesthetic agents and minimal bleeding, he said. Ralf Borchers, faculty, Aachen University, Germany, led a technical session on various laser procedures.
