KUCHING: Early access to the third vaccine dose like other healthcare workers is indeed prudent for dental practitioners, said the Malaysian Dental Association (MDA).
This was due to the nature of practice, where dental practitioners constantly dealt in close proximity with the oral cavity of unmasked patients, the association said in a statement yesterday (Sept 28).
It urged the Ministry of Health (MOH) to ensure a well-coordinated approach in the delivery of the third Covid-19 vaccine doses among dental practitioners.
“Furthermore, till now, it is not mandatory nor a common practice by all dental practitioners to request their patients to undergo Covid-19 screening repeatedly prior to their visits to the dental clinics,” the association added.
“Although there were clear instructions that dental practitioners were prioritised in the first phase, the implementation was not clear.
“This had led to a few organisations, government, and non-governmental, collecting data for listing from private dental practitioners for submission to health authorities,” it said.
It revealed that despite the mammoth effort performed, the implementation differed from state to state with delay in notifications.
These had led to frustration and even complaints by dental practitioners from the private sector.
“On this note, MDA wishes to express our sincere gratitude to the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Mosti) and Coordinating Minister for National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme at that time, Khairy Jamaluddin, for assisting our profession during those difficult moments.
“Hence, we humbly wish that both the MOH and Mosti will set a singular mechanism for listing of notification for all dental practitioners and a uniformed implementation from top to ground level for ease of communication and dissemination of information to all our fellow colleagues,” it added.
