KARACHI, April 15: The Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) will have a fully-fledged dental college and also a dental hospital. This was stated by its Vice-Chancellor, Prof Masood Hameed Khan, on Thursday.

Talking at a symposium held jointly by the DUHS and the Pakistan Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons in the Arag Auditorium, the professor revealed that the buildings of the two institutions would be built near the hostels of the Sindh Medical College, situated opposite the National Institute of Cardio-Vascular Diseases.

Prof Khan observed that excessive use of pan, gutka and sweetened supari was fuelling the prevalence of oral cancers in the country. He also underscored the need for improving standards in the dental colleges and dental hospitals.

He called upon the media to create awareness about the linkage between the overuse of pan, gutka and sweet supari and oral cancers. "No doubt, quite a lot of awareness has already been created about this issue but a lot still needs to be done."

In his presentation, Dr Navid Qureshi said since the prevalence of Hepatitis B in the general population was estimated to be 10 per cent, and that of Hepatitis C was thought to be 12 per cent, the dentists were at considerable risk of contracting the same if and when they got needle-stick injuries.

He advised all the doctors and students present to get themselves vaccinated against Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV. He also called for use of gloves and masks during dental procedures.

"The 5,000 dentists in the country are regularly blamed for transmission of the blood-borne diseases but it is seldom thought that these people may get infected themselves. This must now change."

Dr Qureshi talked at length about the ways and means in which the onset of Hepatitis and HIV could be stopped if a dentist got a needle-stick injury. He stressed the need for generating enough data on the subject.

He was of the opinion that both the private and public hospitals lacked the badly-needed protocols on which to fall back on provided a doctor got injured. "Some of the better known hospitals may have some protocols but these are not being implemented at all."

Dr Mervyn Hosein spoke at length about the handling of the wisdom teeth in patients. Surgical procedures, he said, were mere mechanics. "But what is more important is the care that must be provided to the patients either before the surgery or afterwards."

Prof Rehana Mehar was of the opinion that the authorities concealed the real data in an effort to present to the WHO and other international agencies a "sanitized picture" of the country.

The people who regularly visited the Far-Eastern countries might be importing HIV into the country. "Similarly, in the northern parts of the country, we have a lot of gay people. All this may be increasing the prevalence of HIV in Pakistan."

Capt (Dr) Mirza Raza Ali, the medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital Karachi, said the discipline of Maxillofacial Surgery had largely been neglected in the country. "But now with the introduction of a new department in our hospital, the situation is improving steadily."

He said that he was short of staff and there was a need to appoint qualified faculty to the newly opened department. Dr Khalid Mehmood, Dr Suhail Ahmed, Dr Kashif Ikram and Dr Gauhar Javed also spoke on the occasion. At the end of symposium, the VC gave away appreciation certificate to some 37 on-duty and 3 retired paramedical staff.