Chief Executive Officer of the Port Moresby General Hospital, Dr Umesh Gupta, today (02/11/17) announced the opening of the state of the art Dental Health Facility, dedicated to the people of the National Capital District.
This K3 million facility was funded by the National Government and the National Gaming Control Board as well as the Australian and Chinese Governments.
The new look facility is collaborative effort between the Port Moresby General Hospital and the University of Papua New Guinea’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences through which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed.
There are nine dental rooms, equipped with state of the art dental chairs and dental tools with an Orthopantomogram or OPG machine, the only one machine of its kind in PNG that takes a panoramic view of the entire jaw in one single exposure.
These images are vital for jaw fractures and tumors of the jaw.
All x-rays taken by the machine are digital and can be accessed through a computer software system throughout the hospitals by all doctors for treatment.
The facility has already begun operating and has advanced from receiving only 20 patients per day to 50 and even a 100 dental patients daily to address their oral health issues.
The facility will also accommodate dental students to do their dentistry training practice and boost the morale of having more dentists and dental technicians.
Vice Dean of the UPNG Medical Faculty, Professor John Vince, stated that service and education cannot be separated. He said teachers learn by doing service and people providing service also learn and improve their skills.
He also urged the medical faculty to take care of the equipment as this is an important tool for them to use during their work and also cater to and provide for patients needs.
The Coordinator of Dentistry services Dr Ellenise Falealuga- Ovia was also on hand to thank the funders.
