New dentists not enough to meet demand

By LULU MARK
THE number of local dentists coming out of university is not enough to meet the demand for the service, a doctor says.
Port Moresby General Hospital chief dentist Dr Elenise Falealuga said the number of dentists trained at the University of PNG School of Medicine and Health Sciences was not enough to meet public demand.
She said the current ratio was one dentist to 800,000 people.
She said half of the doctors were working in the private sector and needed to be employed in the public health service.
Yesterday, the university’s dental health clinic in its Waigani campus and the Gerehu General Hospital dental surgery department signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly provide dental health services in Port Moresby.
The UPNG dental clinic was built through the 2015 Pacific Games funding.
She thanked the university for allowing the partnership that will enable the dentist from Gerehu hospital to run the UPNG dental clinic.
Gerehu hospital chief executive officer Dr Steven Yennie said three dental officers were employed there even though the hospital had no dental facilities.