Dentists encouraged to study tooth injuries

Press, 15 August 1984, Page 31

Dentists encouraged to study tooth injuries

PA Auckland Dentists will have to specialise in areas other than tooth decay if they are to keep their jobs in the future, a visiting Danish expert warns. Dr Jens Andreassen, a world authority on serious tooth injuries, is one of the guest lecturers at this week’s Dental Association biennial conference in Auckland. Dental decay was under control and going down while tooth injuries were increasing. “We should be prepared to concentrate on something apart from caries,” he said. In the past, dentists tended

to concentrate on caries to the exclusion of other prob- I lems, such as mouth diseases. “We are the first profession which has worked very hard to put ourselves out of work and we have been i very successful.” said Dr i Andreassen. The dentist unemployment problem worried all dentists and dental associations, he said. Denmark had 400 unemployed dentists this year compared with none a few years ago. Only about 10 per cent of new graduates got jobs. v The dental needs of the population were shifting

from the young to the old, he said. The deputy director of the Dental Health Division of the Health Department, Mr Peter Hunter, said New Zealand dentists were concerned about the unemployment problem. For the first time this year the Dental Council surveyed dentists to find out how many were looking for work. New Zealand has about 1100 practising dentists. The five-day dental conference will discuss subjects including management of .the elderly patient, /he economics, of dentistry, and tooth transplants.