Vijayawada: The Krishna District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) has cracked down on the private body — Indian Dental Association (IDA), which has been reportedly insisting the dental surgeons to get themselves registered with IDA, for DMHO certification, related to the AP Allopathic Private Medical Care Establish-ment (Registration and Regulation Act).
DMHO Dr Y. Kameswara Prasad has taken this decision, after he came to learn about a few IDA representatives threatening dental practitioners that IDA membership is mandatory to get DMHO certification for the clinics registration. When the issue was brought to the knowledge of the DMHO, he said that IDA membership is not mandatory. “But, dentists have to register themselves with the State Dental Cou-ncil,” Dr Kameswara Prasad has clarified.
In fact, a few dentists have brought the issue of reported threatening by some IDA members and also said that the IDA is just a private body which has nothing to do with the practice of the dental surgeons. “The IDA is not the lone representative of the dental surgeons,” a dental practitioner told this correspondent. When the issue was brought to the notice of Dr Sreedhar of the IDA coastal branch, he said he was not aware of any details about the registration process.
However, IDA’s state honorary secretary Dr Ajay Benarjee stated that the membership was aimed at getting acquaintance among the dentists. “There was a rule earlier that the doctors should get IMA certification since we are dentists. We have suggested to take the IDA membership,” Dr Ajay Benarjee said and clarified that the IDA membership is not mandatory.
He has dismissed the allegations levelled against the IDA and stated that nobody from the IDA would resort to such unethical practice of threatening the dentists. Speaking on the issue, Dr Kameswara Prasad said that if anybody is getting such threatening messages, they can lodge a complaint with the DMHO for the necessary action.
