In this day and age, we would think that people would go to a certified dentist to get any dental treatment required. But to our surprise, we still see patients who walk into our practice, asking us to save their teeth after visiting a “roadside dentist”.
Most of the complaints are pain and discomfort, the inability to remove the “denture” for cleaning, sensitivity, and gum swelling post “dental treatment”. When we probe further, these so-called dental treatments were received on a plastic chair in a pasar malam setup.
These are some of the reasons people opted to see roadside dentists. They can provide instant tooth replacement, and their charges are really cheap. They can give you the treatment you want, and no questions will be asked.
Most of these illegal “dental practitioners” look for their victims in the pasar malam where enforcement officers are off-duty. They move from area to area, and the victims can never track them down to ask for a refund when things go wrong.
Is it okay to have this quick fix?
First of all, the equipment they used are not properly sterilised. Infections can be passed among “customers” through saliva and blood contamination.
Secondly, nobody knows if the material they use is safe to be used inside the mouth. For example, polymer powder and monomer solution are toxic in their individual forms, and are only stabilised after going through proper processing procedures. Only then it will be safe to use by the wearers.
What the roadside dentists will do is to put the material directly into the mouth and carve out the tooth shape, while the material hardens inside the mouth.
Ultimately, this material will get stuck around the teeth, the users will not be able to clean it properly, and the other teeth inside the mouth will also get affected.
When food gets stuck, bacteria flourish on the wounded gums and feast on the food debris, and problems like gum swelling and tooth decay will happen.
Don’t feel offended when dentists ask about your health status. It is necessary to protect you, because some of the medical conditions and medication taken can have potential risks when dental procedures are being provided.
For instance, people taking anti-platelets have the risk of prolonged bleeding from the gums. With this information in mind, the dentist will be able to take precautions and can avoid unnecessary mishaps.
Dentists will try their best to provide the best treatment based on your concerns. However, the sequence of treatment must be based on scientific evidence and must also build a strong foundation for the restoration to be successful in the long run.
For example, a person would want to have braces to correct the gaps at the anterior portion. However, if the dentist has detected this person to have serious gum disease, where one of the symptoms is teeth moving apart, then this gum condition needs to be controlled first before embarking on braces installation.
If the dentist explains this to the client, and the latter understands the importance of the proposed treatment sequence, then there will be a lasting dentist-patient partnership.
The practice of roadside dentists will only stop if there is no more demand from the consumers. Your mouth is the gateway to your health.
If you need dental treatment, please visit a registered dentist, instead of going to the pasar malam for a quick fix from the roadside dentists. Be a wise consumer.
You can also help by reporting them to the Malaysian Dental Council. If the practice of dentistry does not fulfil all the criteria under Act 586, then it will be deemed as illegal dentistry under Section 4(1) of Act 586, and if a person is found guilty, he can be subject to a maximum fine of RM300,000, or a jail term not exceeding six years, or both.
Dr Cheah Chia Wei is a consultant periodontist and senior lecturer at the Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
