Oral radiology in Bangladesh today: a brief review

Abstract

P.C. Mallick (*) Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Division of Medical Intelligence and Informatics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan Tel. 81-82-257-5691; Fax 81-82-257-5692 e-mail: mallick@hiroshima-u.ac.jp The country Bangladesh, which gained its independence in December 1971, is cramped into an area of only 144000km on the delta formed by the three great rivers of South Asia. The Brahamaputra, Meghna, and Ganga rivers all discharge into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh. The country is therefore frequently affected by floods, cyclones, river-bank erosion, and tornadoes, and such natural disasters have several times caused significant damage to the national economy. Moreover, the population density of Bangladesh is likely to increase in all parts of the country. Nearly half of the people of Bangladesh still live in poverty, more than 60% are illiterate, and barely 20% are truly functionally literate. These conditions pose obstacles not just for the field of oral radiology but for the entire academic community. There have nevertheless been some notable achievements, although a need for faster technological development is increasingly felt in Bangladesh today. Development plans emphasize the scientific and technological sectors and specifically call for the development of medical science technologies through the adoption of imported technologies because Bangladesh is heavily dependent on imported technologies and specialized information from countries around the world. In particular, the technological advancement of dentistry in Bangladesh has been dependent primarily on Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In Bangladesh, three government-run dental colleges at three universities offer courses leading to a bachelor in dental surgery (BDS) degree. Surprisingly, none of these colleges have oral radiology departments or faculty members specializing in this area. The subject of oral radiology properly belongs to operative dentistry, and the curriculum currently available is not sufficient to train students in proper diagnostic procedures. The World Health Organization, however, has suggested that the success rate of medical procedures depends on the use of imaging to make accurate diagnosis possible. Nevertheless, although BDS courses are offered by nearly ten private dental colleges in Bangladesh, none of these colleges have departments of oral radiology, and neither do they offer courses solely on oral radiology. Many institutions, including the government-run dental colleges, do not even have panoramic X-ray machines with which to perform demonstrations for students. Although some private diagnostic centers have adequate facilities to take panoramic X-rays of their patients, differential diagnoses cannot be made owing to the lack of specialists in oral radiology. As a result, oral surgeons and practitioners cannot even discuss their diagnoses with an oral radiologist. The people of Bangladesh, therefore, do not have the advantage of modern oral imaging technologies. Very recently, Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Bangladesh has begun offering postgraduate programs of education in oral surgery, prosthetic dentistry, and operative dentistry, but these programs have no instructor of oral radiology, since currently no specialist in this field is available. In Bangladesh today, teachers from other departments have full responsibility for handling the subject matter of oral radiology. To demonstrate the usefulness of oral radiology among Bangladeshi academics and practitioners, the following basic points should be considered: