Dental association seeks gov’t remedial measures for sector woes

AMMAN — The Jordan Dental Association (JDA) has put forward demands for the Health Ministry to address issues mainly of retired practitioners' association membership issues, insurance scams and unemployment in the field, among others.

One of the main demands presented by the JDA focused on amendments to the incentives by-law, which were proposed by the association and a Health Ministry dentists committee. The amendments were approved by Health Minister Saad Jaber during a meeting with heads of professional associations.

The amendments include removing the word "dentist" from the incentives by-law and replacing it with "doctor", which should refer to both doctors and dentists, according to a JDA Facebook post shared on Monday.

In the post, the JDA said the sources of incentives were “determined clearly”, and the amendments removed the cap set on incentives, which the association said is "a big and just achievement", attaching images that show all the details related to the amendments. 

In regards to other issues facing the JDA, there are 150 dentists who are retired but still practice dentistry and are deprived of their rights to join in the general assembly meetings or run as candidates for association elections, JDA President Azem Qaddoumi told The Jordan Times on Monday over the phone.

If retired dentists above 60 years of age do not pay their financial dues, which include retirement fund, health insurance and profession practice fees for six months, they lose their association-related rights, according to Qaddoumi.

Qaddoumi said the association rejects this article in the JDA law and is working to amend it, "as it violates all humanitarian concepts to deprive dentists from their association rights because they did not commit to paying their fees for six months, even if they have paid them for over 30 years".

Another issue that faces dentists is the “scammers” who, according to JDA, act as door-to-door salesmen and convince individuals to subscribe to a sort of dental insurance for an annual fee, giving them a card that they can use at certain doctors and clinics to receive treatment at lower prices. 

The JDA president said that the association council has met with the industry and trade minister, forming a committee that will follow up on the issue of fake insurance and work on raising awareness about the negative effects of this phenomenon.

In cooperation with the ministries of health and industry and trade, legal measures will be taken to combat salesmen who promote fake cards and dental insurances as well as doctors who deal with them, Qaddoumi said.

As for unemployment, Qaddoumi said that after activating the retirement law, which allows all those over 60 years of age or those who completed 30 years of service in the ministry to retire, the next phase will witness a “wave of employment” to bring replacements.

The JDA general assembly currently comprises around 10,000 dentists, Qaddoumi said, noting that the number is very high compared to the overall population, "if not the highest in the world".

The association president said that the council has a vision to increase job opportunities through building a hospital for dentists, while also demanding that the concerned authorities expand the construction of dental clinics. 

The association voiced hope that there will be a hospital designated for dentistry at the Royal Medical Services or the Health Ministry, which will increase the “status of the profession” in the Kingdom and increase income for these institutions.