To perform dental implant surgery, dentists need to undergo comprehensive training in surgical implant procedures. (Photograph: greenbutterfly/Shutterstock)

Jan 23, 2015 | News Middle East & Africa

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: Recently, Saudi Arabian newspaper Arab News reported online that over half of private dentists in the country have not had specialised training in dental implantology and are thus unqualified to perform dental implant procedures.

About 60 per cent of dentists in private clinics in Saudi Arabia have not obtained a full licence from the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCHS), an official at the agency told Arab News. Therefore, the commission has now banned unlicensed clinics from performing implant procedures. 

According to the newspaper, a SCHS official stated that a considerable number of expatriates who work in private clinics are not specialised in implantology owing to insufficient training in the discipline. He further reported that about 90 per cent of applicants for SCHS licences have failed the test. However, the commission hopes to promote training in implant dentistry with a number of educational initiatives, such as Saudi fellowship and board programmes.

Currently, an estimated 100 specialists are needed to meet the demand for implant treatments, according to Arab News.