by STAFF WRITER
December 21, 2021
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Dec 21, CMC – The Dental Council of Guyana (DCG) is warning the general public to be wary of what it called “phonies” pretending to be certified dentists and dangerously offering dental braces placement.
DCG chairman, Dr Pravesh Harry, said that the Council has been keeping up its mandate to protect the public from these illegal practices.
He said these “quacks’ have been advertising the implementation of dental braces at what seems to be a slightly lower price than what is standard.
“The primary issue that has come to light in recent times is the promotion of braces on Facebook where you can see these ads for…very cheap, attractive prices,” he said.
The Council said that in many instances, these persons offering the services are unregistered and unqualified to perform any dental practices, resulting in serious injuries to patients.
“This, of course, is very harmful because that particular specialty within dentistry can cause irreversible damages to patients who are going to be unsuspecting and very much unaware of the consequences of that nature of treatment,” Dr Harry said.
He said many members of the public are oddly referring to this form of orthodontic treatment as a fashion statement.
“These braces are also being advertised for fashion purposes…it’s somewhat of a trend globally where people want to have braces because it looks cool [and]…very much a status thing, but there is no such thing as fashion braces. Braces are an orthodontic treatment done to correct dental and medical issues, not to look good,” he explained.
Dr Harry said that if someone is looking to have dental treatment, the patient must also own up to his responsibility to verify the status of the dental practitioner.
“Primarily, all dentists will be issued a certificate of registration at the beginning of the year. That certificate is displayed within their practice whether it be private practice or at a hospital. We [are encouraging] persons who are attending a clinic to look out for that and if they don’t see it, ask about it,” he noted.
The DCG is urging members of the public to continue to report these phony dental practitioners so that relevant action could be taken against them.
CMC/gt/ir/2021
