If trained properly they will be able to do a much better job of patinet counselling and thsi will lead to inrease in patient footfall.

Even as the Union government and Medical Council of India appear set to extend the duration of MBBS course by a year from the existing five-and-a-half from 2013-14, the State government will make rural service mandatory for students clearing MBBS and post-graduate courses in medicine this academic year itself.

Replying to Congress member B. Ramanath Rai during Question Hour in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Minister for Medical Education S.A. Ramdas said the State government will table a draft Bill on making one-year rural service mandatory for MBBS and post-graduate students of medicine on July 30.

“By September this year, 3,000 MBBS students and 1,110 post-graduates in medicine, who will pass out of medical colleges, will become available for rural service in the State,” he said.

Hence, one-year rural service will become mandatory for students who are in their final year of MBBS and those studying post-graduate courses in medicine.

The government will incur an expenditure of Rs. 386 crore on this, Mr. Ramdas added.

Mr. Ramdas said that the last year of medicine course will be considered for rural deployment.

Several Opposition MLAs cited the shortage of government doctors in rural areas and urged the government to promulgate an ordinance to make rural service mandatory for MBBS doctors if the passage of the Bill is delayed.

Government officials had recommended that MBBS graduates be made eligible for registration with the Karnataka Medical Council only after they completed a one-year rural service.

The national survey on oral health shows 4 out of 10 adults in the U.S. say cost is the main reason they don’t visit the dentist with an oral health problem like a toothache or loose teeth “in the past six months.”

Fear was the motivating factor to forgo the dentist for only 1 in 10 adults when they had an oral health problem.

Researchers say the results suggest cost and lack of dental coverage is a major factor influencing oral health in the U.S.

Overall, the study shows about three-quarters of adults aged 18-64 in 2008 had very good or good oral health, 17% had fair, and 7% had poor.

People with Medicaid were almost five times as likely as adults with private health insurance to have poor oral health.In 2000, the U.S. surgeon general issued a report calling attention to the “silent epidemic” of dental and oral diseases in the U.S. and emphasizing the need for more information about the status of peoples’ oral health.

In this study, researchers analyzed information from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey to check on the status of oral health in the U.S.

The results show 6 out of 10 adults aged 18-64 visited a dentist or other dental health professional “within the past year.”

Researchers found several health and economic factors were related to oral health and frequency of dentist visits. For example:

People with diabetes were nearly twice as likely to have worse oral health than others the same age without diabetes (29% vs. 16%).
People with diabetes were also nearly twice as likely as those without diabetes to have not visited a dentist in more than five years.
Those in poor families were more than twice as likely as adults in families that were not poor to have worse oral health than others (28% vs. 13%).
Among those with one or more mouth or tooth problems, more than half who were uninsured had an unmet dental need due to cost, vs. one-tenth of those with private health insurance.
Education also seemed to play a role in overall oral health. The study shows people with less than a high school diploma were nearly twice as likely to have poorer oral health than others their age (39% vs. 20%).

“We are in an advanced stage of discussion with two domestic private equity players who have an interest in the healthcare space,” said Mr V.S. Venkatesh, CEO.

Alliance hopes to conclude the deal in a few months. This will see the partners shedding stake. Currently, Apollo has a 70 per cent stake in the company, while medical equipment company Trivitron holds the rest.

The funds will go towards expansion of the dental-care chain. Currently, Alliance operates 20 dental centres under the White brand name. Previously, the White dental chain was called Apollo Dental Centre, which was given a facelift recently.

The rebranded White network consists of 14 clinics, five studios and one spa across Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata.

The dental studios and spas are positioned as providers of cosmetic and wellness services in a “plush” ambience. The dental clinics are neighbourhood “economy” clinics.

‘Express’ centres are also on the cards for “instant” solutions for dental hygiene, pain management and whitening procedures at hospitals, clinics, malls and airports.

“By 2014, we want to have 100 centres across the country,” said Mr Venkatesh. Next on the radar are Delhi and Kolkata.

Plans are also on to expand overseas. “By 2013, we will be present at two locations in West Asia.”

Dental practice in the country is estimated to be a Rs 3,500-crore industry.

: A British dental charity has announced that it will help to train local clinical workers in Rwanda. Volunteer dentists will give instruction in routine dental procedures to bring better access to oral health care to rural communities in the country. The organisation is planning to start work next year.
In an interview, Ian Wilson, co-founder and Clinical Director of Bridge2Aid, told the BBC recently that his organisation is aiming to set up a new pilot project in collaboration with the Rwandan government and Survivors Fund (SURF), a UK-based organisation that supports survivors of the 1994 genocide.

“Rwanda is an amazing country and our hope is that we bring a sustainable contribution to serve the rural communities, just as we’ve been able to do with so many isolated settlements in Tanzania,” Wilson said.

According to Bridge2Aid, the East African country has only 11 dentists for a population of 11 million people, which gives a dentist to patient ratio of 1 to 800,000. Owing to a lack of trained personnel, most people do not have access to dental care. In addition, 80 per cent of the population live in rural areas, whereas 100 per cent of dental professionals live in cities or towns.

Bridge2Aid is based in Garforth, Leeds. The organisation has already trained more than 160 local health workers in Tanzania since 2002. Today, they train over 50 health workers each year.

Dr Madan