Dental quacks: Liars to the society

Abstract

Dentistry has come A long way in the last one and a half century; today it is ranked as one of the most respected professions. It is incumbent upon dentists everywhere to protect this hard-earned reputation by weeding out quacks among them. Dental diseases restrict activities in school, work and home and often significantly diminishes the quality of life for many children and adults, especially those who have low income or are uninsured. Quackery in dentistry has been a problem for decades. There are a large number of quacks practicing illegal dentistry in India, pretending to have skill, knowledge or qualification which they do not actually possess. It arises when there are inadequate numbers of competent and trained practitioners or when their charges appear prohibitive to a segment of the population. Poorly educated people often become gullible prey to quacks who perform dental treatment, which is often harmful to patients. It’s a time to take measures to stop such unethical practices.