The Philippine Dental Association on Monday said dentists are also badly hit by the coronavirus disease infection, and lamented that they also need government aid.
In a radio interview over dzMM, Dr. Stephen Almonte, PDA president, said dentists do not receive regular wages, and that they lost their jobs under the no-work no-pay scheme because of the enhanced community quarantine.
“Last March 15, the PDA issued advisory guidelines to all members of the association to comply with the infection control protocol. In short, we are making it clear that we ask [our] members and all the Filipino dentists out there to stop procedures, elective, and only do emergency procedures,” he said.
Almonte said they are appealing to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease to look into “possibility” of helping.
Almonte said the PDA has talked to the National Association of Dental Traders “asking for longer terms of payment” for those dentists who have procured their dental equipment on a staggered basis of payment.
According to Almonte, 70 percent of the newly dentistry graduates who have passed the board examination would put up a dental clinic of their own with only one staff acting as the clinic’s secretary.