Dr Nneka Onyejiaka, the acting Dean, Dental Faculty, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN),
has called for an upgrade of dental facilities in the institution.
She made the call on Tuesday in Enugu in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), adding that the call had become necessary
following the dearth of facilities at the faculty, which limited the number of new intakes and graduates.
Onyejiaka said that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) had limited the number of graduates to be produced by the faculty annually.
According to her, the faculty is currently not allowed to graduate more than 15 students yearly.
She added that the figure was a far cry from the goal of taking care of the dental challenges of the people, considering UNN as the only institution
accredited to train graduate dentists in the South-East.
The dean noted that the problem was due to the dearth of dental facilities and infrastructure in the institution.
She said there was need to upgrade existing facilities in the faculty, erect new structures, provide dental chairs, compressors and phantom heads.
She explained that the faculty only admitted 14 students in the current academic year as it was limited by equipment and structures.
She called for the construction of an ultramodern dental centre in UNN to increase the number of new intakes and graduates.(NAN)
