MUMBAI, Nov. 15 -- Even as the state government issued a GR on November 8 to ensure that all dental patients get good-quality dental devices such as implants, dentures and orthodontic appliances, dental implants are not available at the BMC's 17 peripheral hospitals. Moreover, most dental departments here do not have a full-time dentist on board and operate with part-time dentists who clock in around four hours a day, offering basic dental services. At Shatabdi Hospital at Govandi, the dental facility is managed by one part-time dentist who offers services like extraction and cleaning. "We are in the process of starting treatments like root canals," said Dr Shubhangi Gorkhe, chief medical officer. V N Desai Hospital, Santacruz East, faces a similar situation with the dental OPD currently handling only basics like tooth extraction and dental cleaning. "Since the dentist is occupied in seeing patients in the four hours spent here, it is not possible to do any other tests like root canals. We have now proposed two full-time dentists, so that one can meet patients while the other can perform root canals, which are very time-consuming," said Dr Mayura Nagle, medical superintendent of the hospital. Two months ago, Dr Saeeda Khan had raised this issue at a BMC health committee meeting. "Most of the people who frequent BMC hospitals are daily wagers," she had pointed out. "How do you expect them to go all the way to St George's Hospital at Fort or Nair Dental Hospital for dental treatments for anything beyond tooth extraction? They not only lose their wage for the day but also end up spending from their pockets." Khan added that dental care at the peripheral hospitals did not get the kind of the services they needed due to the BMC not providing any consumables (materials needed for treatments) for the treatment. "A dental department cannot be run simply on dentists-they also need the paraphernalia and the necessary consumables which the BMC must provide," said Dr Khan. Dental services at Krantiveer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule General Hospital, Vikhroli, have been shut down for the past 15 years and the services shifted to the neighbouring Babasaheb Ambedkar Maternity Hospital. "Currently, patients have to go either to Rajawadi or Sion Hospital for dental treatment," said Dr Yogesh Bhalerao, local activist from Vikhroli. However, there are exceptions like Kandivli's Shatabdi Hospital, which intends to start root canal treatment by the end of November. "We already have two dental chairs and we have placed orders for consumables," said Dr Vikas Gupta, Shatabdi's medical superintendent. Dr Chandrakant Pawar, chief medical superintendent of peripheral hospitals, did not respond to queries but officials in the know informed HT that following much criticism at the health committee meeting, the BMC is now in the process of beefing up its dental care services at the peripheral hospitals. This includes plans to hire full-time dentists, and a proposal in this regard is likely to be presented before the health committee soon....