Dentists ready to be Covid warriors

MANGALURU

: Dentists waiting to get admitted into the

MDS

course have requested the government to consider them as

Covid

warriors.


Dr Mahima Mishra, alumna MCODS Mangaluru, has requested the government to notify NEET-MDS counselling dates, for exams conducted in December 2020. She believes thousands of dentists sitting at home are fit and capable enough to serve as Covid warriors in this hour of a public health emergency.

She has tweeted to President of India Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, health minister Harsh Vardhan, and the

ministry of health and family welfare

, about the plight of dentists, and how they are willing to serve as Covid warriors.

She said, “Since March 2020, the batch of 2015 hasn’t practised dentistry. Our NEET- MDS all-India ranks have been announced, but we still have no idea about our state ranks or our counselling schedule. Students who don’t have a good rank are unable to decide whether they should wait for the counselling or prepare for the next exam. If counselling cannot be conducted, kindly provide Covid training to all the NEET-MDS qualified students, and consider it as a part of our three-year MDS Course,” Dr Mahima requested the government.

Dr Harshhan, alumni, MCODS Mangaluru, said, “There has been no news from the Medical Selection Committee on the counselling. Almost 25,000 BDS graduates have written the exam, and are waiting for admissions. Once the MDS admissions happen, these students can work in the Covid wards. That would bring in a minimum of 10,000 BDS graduates to help fight the Covid-19 emergency.”

“In most of the institutes, dental residents have been assigned Covid duty for about eight hours a day. If our counselling was held on time, by now, we would have been able to lend a hand in combating this pandemic,” said Dr Balasubramaniam Shankar, from MGM Dental College and

Hospital

, Navi Mumbai.

Dr Someswar Chakraborty from IDS Bhubaneswar, Odisha said that dentists have been suffering since the pandemic.

The newly admitted PGs will reduce the burden of the medical fraternity, said Dr Roopa Rachel Thomas, alumna MCODS, Mangaluru.

Dr Aayush Poddar, alumni MCODS Mangaluru, suggested easy conversion of unutilised dental hospitals into isolation and monitoring centres.