The Oral Health Professionals Association of Ghana (OHPAG) has urged the government to reintroduce training for Dental Laboratory Technicians in order to ensure the delivery of quality oral health care.

According to OHPAG, the change would ensure a more holistic approach to oral health care delivery, resulting in better outcomes for patients in Ghana.

In 2019, the Ministry of Health ceased training for Dental Laboratory Technicians, who are expected to work at the sub-district, district, and regional levels to deliver both preventive and curative oral treatments.

These technicians collaborate closely with dentists to manufacture crowns, bridges, dentures, and other dental equipment to improve oral health care using imprints or moulds of a patient’s teeth.

Douglas Avoka, President of OHPAG, spoke at their annual national oral health conference 2023 in Koforidua about the necessity for the government to resume training of Dental Laboratory Technicians as soon as possible.

“I wish to use this platform to urgently appeal to the Ministry of Health to resume the training of Dental Laboratory Technicians which was halted in 2019”.

Without a steady supply of skilled technicians, our ability to provide quality dental care will be compromised, he reiterated.

Douglas Avoka similarly, made a passionate plea for financial clearance for Dental Surgery Assistants and Technicians to avert the situation where dental facilities have more dentists than assistants which hinders the efficiency of dental care delivery and places undue stress on dental professionals.

Touching briefly on the theme for the conference “Collaborative Approaches in Oral Health Care: Strengthening the Dental Team in Ghana”, Douglas challenged OHPAG members to invest in their professional development to raise the bar of oral healthcare in Ghana.