NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 23 — The Kenya Dental Association (KDA) has threatened legal action against the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), accusing the regulator of unlawfully seeking to allow unqualified individuals to perform dental procedures that should be reserved for licensed dentists.

📻 Breaking It Down

In a statement issued on Thursday, the association condemned what it described as the publication of a purported scope of practice that authorizes non-dentists to provide dental care services, warning that the move poses a serious threat to patient safety.

“The KDA considers this action to be unlawful, irrational, procedurally sickening and contrary to the Constitution, the Health Act, and the statutory mandate of the Council,” the association said.

It argued that the scope of clinical dental practice cannot be expanded through administrative notices or circulars without proper legislative processes, public participation and consultation with the dental profession.

📌 What You Need to Know

“The scope of clinical dental practice in Kenya is a matter of public safety. It cannot be altered through circulars, notices or administrative publications that have neither been subjected to public participation nor developed through meaningful consultation with the dental profession and other affected stakeholders,” the statement said.

The association warned that the move could expose millions of Kenyans to unsafe, substandard and unregulated oral healthcare by allowing individuals without the necessary qualifications to perform complex clinical procedures.

Among the procedures the KDA says should remain the exclusive preserve of qualified dentists are root canal treatment, orthodontics, restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, advanced dental surgery, paediatric dentistry and the prescription of medicines.

“These are advanced clinical procedures and interventions requiring the knowledge, competence and training of qualified dental practitioners and surgeons,” the association said.

“Their purported inclusion through an administrative publication threatens patient safety, undermines professional standards, and exceeds the proper regulatory process.”

The KDA maintained that professional regulation must be based on lawful authority, competency-based training and evidence, arguing that a regulatory publication cannot legally confer clinical authority on individuals who are neither trained nor licensed as dentists.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya