{"id":147769,"date":"2026-07-23T16:02:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/dentists-reject-kmpdc-plan-to-let-non-dentists-offer-dental-care\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T16:02:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:02:55","slug":"dentists-reject-kmpdc-plan-to-let-non-dentists-offer-dental-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/dentists-reject-kmpdc-plan-to-let-non-dentists-offer-dental-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Dentists reject KMPDC plan to let non-dentists offer dental care"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 23 \u2014 The Kenya Dental Association (KDA) has threatened legal action against the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), accusing the regulator of unlawfully seeking to allow unqualified individuals to perform dental procedures that should be reserved for licensed dentists.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Thursday, the association condemned what it described as the publication of a purported scope of practice that authorizes non-dentists to provide dental care services, warning that the move poses a serious threat to patient safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe KDA considers this action to be unlawful, irrational, procedurally sickening and contrary to the Constitution, the Health Act, and the statutory mandate of the Council,\u201d the association said.<\/p>\n

It argued that the scope of clinical dental practice cannot be expanded through administrative notices or circulars without proper legislative processes, public participation and consultation with the dental profession.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scope of clinical dental practice in Kenya is a matter of public safety. It cannot be altered through circulars, notices or administrative publications that have neither been subjected to public participation nor developed through meaningful consultation with the dental profession and other affected stakeholders,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

The association warned that the move could expose millions of Kenyans to unsafe, substandard and unregulated oral healthcare by allowing individuals without the necessary qualifications to perform complex clinical procedures.<\/p>\n

Among the procedures the KDA says should remain the exclusive preserve of qualified dentists are root canal treatment, orthodontics, restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, advanced dental surgery, paediatric dentistry and the prescription of medicines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are advanced clinical procedures and interventions requiring the knowledge, competence and training of qualified dental practitioners and surgeons,\u201d the association said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir purported inclusion through an administrative publication threatens patient safety, undermines professional standards, and exceeds the proper regulatory process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The KDA maintained that professional regulation must be based on lawful authority, competency-based training and evidence, arguing that a regulatory publication cannot legally confer clinical authority on individuals who are neither trained nor licensed as dentists.<\/p>\n

The association issued a series of demands to KMPDC, including the immediate withdrawal of the publication, suspension of its implementation and the release of expert reports, competency assessments and stakeholder consultation documents used to develop the proposed scope of practice.<\/p>\n

It also called for an urgent consultative forum bringing together the Ministry of Health, universities, professional associations and other stakeholders to address what it termed the growing threat of dental quackery.<\/p>\n

The dentists warned that failure to withdraw the publication would leave them with no option but to seek legal redress.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould the publication not be withdrawn forthwith, the Kenya Dental Association will pursue all available legal avenues to protect the public interest, uphold professional standards and ensure that the rule of law prevails,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

The association insisted that healthcare regulation exists primarily to protect patients rather than lower professional standards, stressing that every person providing dental treatment must possess the qualifications, competence and legal authority required under Kenyan law.<\/p>\n

The KMPDC had not publicly responded to the association\u2019s claims by the time of publication.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 23 \u2014 The Kenya Dental Association (KDA) has threatened legal action against the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), accusing the regulator of unlawfully seeking to allow unqualified individuals to perform dental procedures that should be reserved for licensed dentists. In a statement issued on Thursday, the association condemned what it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147769\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}