ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region's dentists union announced Sunday that they have closed down a dozen clinics over the past six months after finding they had used expired medical equipment.
The majority of the expired materials, numbering 800, belonged to foreign cosmetic dentists operating unlicensed clinics, Ahmed Dizayee, head of the Erbil branch of the Kurdistan Dental Association (KDA), told Rudaw.
Dizayee said one of the clinics that they closed belonged to a Syrian individual who had opened it inside a refugee camp, without carrying a license from the union.
"This is a violation, and we closed down his clinic," he said.
The union's official detailed that they have resolved several issues between patients and doctors in the past six months, urging people to notify them if they are unsatisfied with the work of their doctors, so that issues can be resolved and all treatment expenses can be reimbursed.
The official elaborated that during the same time period, they have fined 25 dentists and 11 other clinics have been forced to sign a pledge to improve the quality of their work.
The KDA is a non-governmental organization in the Kurdistan Region, working with international agencies such as the World Health Organization, "to improve the oral health of all people."
"KDA fosters best practices in oral health science and education by sharing knowledge in preventive care, diagnosis, and treatment, and builds capacity through its own continuing education (CE) programs, projects, awareness campaigns, and policy statements," according to the union.
