In search of affordable dental care in the city

Rahima Sultana is a house help working at three different places to make ends meet. She needed immediate dental attention and hurried to a dental clinic nearby.

Sultana came back with a repair -- the dentist had removed the decayed tooth tissue and then filled the cavity. The dental work cost her Tk 3,000; had she opted for a tooth extraction, it would have been Tk 5,000!

That was not the end of her misfortune. A few days later, her mouth was still sore from toothache. Even though it was an expensive dental disaster for her, who hardly had any savings to spare on health care, let alone dental care, the filling was breaking off and the infection worsened. 

Finally, she went to the dental unit of BIRDEM, the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders and extracted three infected teeth for Tk 2,400. The prescribed medicines finally cured her.

Dental work in any part of the world is expensive and Dhaka is no exception. So, where do the toiling masses go for affordable and reliable dental work?

Here comes in handy the general dentistry departments of government hospitals, dental colleges, and semi-government hospitals -- they all offer professional treatment at low prices.

Among these institutes, BIRDEM and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) -- the premier Postgraduate Medical Institution in Dhaka --offer praiseworthy dental care for all.

At BIRDEM, anyone can walk in to avail treatment. First, they need to take a slip and are then referred to the precise care unit for specific dental care. There are departments of conservative dentistry and endodontics, paediatric dentistry, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopaedics, prosthodontics, dental surgery, and so on.

"We are a non-profit medical organisation. We have a social welfare department at BIRDEM to help the poor and destitute patients; the goal is to provide total healthcare including rehabilitation for all diabetics irrespective of gender, economic and social status through different institutions of Diabetic Associations of Bangladesh, which also includes dentistry," explains Dr Rafia Nazneen, associate professor and Head of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, BIRDEM.

The dental departments of these government and semi-government hospitals have specialist doctors; the workstations and equipment are made sterile using autoclave steam sterilisers.

"Maintaining hygiene is also one of our top priorities," she added. "Dentistry is a skill development job; it is just not about using your head. This learning takes time. Daily we see 30 to 40 patients, besides other departments have their own patient count."

Patients waiting in long queues vouch for the doctor's professionalism. Diabetic patients are more comfortable to come at BIRDEM than any private dental clinic.

Dr Rafia Nazneen said, "The fees that we charge patients here are subsidised. And our salary is on a government scale. Working for government hospitals is prestigious, making money is not our priority."

The case of Rahima Sultana brings to attention people's struggle for affordable healthcare. It is a blessing that through institutions like BIRDEM and BSMMU people have some outlet to receive quality healthcare at a fraction of the cost incurred elsewhere.