Everyone wants to get braces in Kenya today, just look around, everyone smiling funny. There’s also a surge in dental clinics. I have heard rumours that there are offers for braces for as low as 2k to get the wires on your teeth. Mko serious?
If you’re looking to get your teeth aligned, be real careful with unverified clinics, informal dental setups and practitioners whose credentials and facility licence you cannot independently confirm.
If you cannot google and find a practitioner’s license online, wachana nayo.
If you’re thinking about getting braces and other oral health solutions, don’t just look for the cheapest offer. Your teeth are not the place to experiment with someone whose qualifications you cannot verify.
In Kenya, dentists train through a five-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programme, followed by the required supervised internship and the KMPDC registration and licensing process. The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council and KDA both maintain registers where you can check practitioners and licensed health facilities.
And yes, there are different dental specialists for different problems.
Types of Dental Specialists
1. Orthodontist
An orthodontist specialises in diagnosing and treating problems involving the alignment of teeth and jaws. They are the dental specialists you are likely to encounter when you need comprehensive orthodontic treatment such as braces or other teeth-aligning appliances.
2. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons specialise in surgical conditions affecting the mouth, jaws, face and related structures. Their work can include complex tooth extractions, treatment of oral and maxillofacial pathology, corrective jaw surgery, facial trauma and other specialised procedures.
3. Pediatric Dentist
A paediatric dentist specialises in the oral health and dental development of children and adolescents, from infancy through the teenage years.
4. Periodontist
A periodontist specialises in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the gums and the tissues and bone supporting the teeth. Treatment can include non-surgical gum therapy and, where necessary, procedures such as gum grafting and periodontal surgery.
5. Prosthodontist
Prosthodontists restore and replace lost or damaged teeth. They specialize in dental procedures such as porcelain veneers, crowns, dental implants, bridge repair, dentures, and reconstructive dentistry.
Substandard Oral care Can Become a Very Expensive Problem
Do your homework on your dentist before you let any near your mouth. With the many clinics that have popped up since braces became fashionable, you don’t want some total quack messing with your oral teeth. Oral risks are a nightmare you definitely want to avoid.
A wrong move in the nerves in your mouth can cost you your life. And Kenya Dental Association (KDA) has severally issued warnings on quacks.
How the Wrong Hands Can Turn Your Smile Into a Medical Nightmare
1. During Extractions of Wisdom Teeth:
Lower wisdom teeth roots often sit directly on or wrap around the inferior alveolar nerve canal. Quacks might excess force during extractions. This aggression can easily bruise, crush, or completely slice the nerves. Here’s a recently covered case from an unqualified “dentist” in Kawangware.
The Kawangware botched extraction caused death, and The Kenya Dental Association (KDA) pointed the finger at the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), citing that the very body tasked with monitoring and acting against unlicensed practitioners, had not done anything about the quacks in the country.
2. During Implants and Root Canals:
When there’s poor placement or tools reaching and drilling way too deep reaching the nerves.
3. From reckless Anesthesia Injections:
Unaona hio dawa ya kugandisha… baas. A bad shot by a quack can cause nerve injury when the needle hits the nerve head directly or if the fluid causes a hematoma that compresses the nerve.
4. When treating tooth infections”
Tooth Infections and the abscesses builds heavy pressure and spreads bacteria. A fake dentist will operate without proper sterilization equipment, and they can introduce massive bacterial cross-contamination, or do an incomplete job.
NB: As you visit that clinic from TikTok, note that A “dentist” operating on you or saying they’re installing braces without an X-ray or any diagnostic imaging is one of the most critical red flags that he’s unqualified.
To confirm a service provider is a registered dentist, send an SMS to 20547 containing at least two of the doctor’s names, in this format: P#DentistName
Here is a link to Kenya Dental Association. They have warned that some individuals trained as Community Oral Health Officers (COHOs) or dental technologists are illegally stepping outside their limits.
Here is a statement by KDA
The COHOs as cited on the KDA page, are trained to do basic hygiene or cleanings, but they are secretly opening back-alley clinics to perform complex extractions, root canals, and cheap braces for quick profits.
Above all, just take care of your oral health, and brush your teeth before you sleep. A visit to the dentist’s chair comes with a heeeeefty bill, and a heavier one when you visit a quack. Be guided.
Medical Disclaimer:
The information in this article is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional dental or medical advice. Always consult a licensed dentist or healthcare provider for any oral health concerns or treatment.