Chennai: Dental surgeons working in Tamil Nadu’s Primary Health Centres (PHCs) on a temporary basis for 15 to 20 years are demanding permanent employment and better pay. The Doctors’ Association for Social Equality and the Tamil Nadu PHC Dental Surgeons’ Association highlighted the shortage of dental professionals in government hospitals.
According to Indian Public Health Standards, district headquarters hospitals should have three dentists, taluk or non-taluk hospitals two, and each PHC one. Based on this, over 3,000 dentists are required across the state. However, only one-third of the required positions are filled, and more than half of these are contractual. Currently, the state has 478 permanent dental surgeons and 544 on contract.
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Contract dental surgeons have long worked under low pay. A 2004 Government directive fixed their daily wage at ₹500, and they were later brought under the National Health Mission (NHM) in 2009.
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Their current consolidated salary is ₹34,000, with those completing 20 years earning ₹42,000. By comparison, entry-level dental surgeons in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh earn ₹71,550 and ₹56,100, respectively.
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A 2016 Government Order allowed for regularisation of contractual doctors and dental surgeons through a special qualifying exam, but it has not been implemented. While 7,636 MBBS doctors have been appointed to permanent posts through the Medical Services Recruitment Board (MRB) since 2013, only 166 BDS dental surgeons have secured permanent positions.
The associations are demanding a special MRB exam for permanent appointments, higher salaries to ensure “equal pay for equal work,” job security, paid weekly offs, medical leave, maternity benefits, and an end to contractual recruitment. To press these demands, they plan to stage a hunger strike in Chennai on Sunday.
