Hindsight brings forth the fulfillment of looking back at past achievements. Foresight presents the anticipation of the successes ahead. Along the way we encounter people we look forward to meeting. A twist of fate however, may bring us face to face with individuals not worthy of our welcome.
It’s nothing new, actually. News about dental clinics robbed, specifically those operated by female dentists, recently gained attention from the dental community. Private clinics are most vulnerable to these crimes simply because what we have are one of the open to the general public type of establishments. Hot items are the day’s earnings, laptops, mobile phones, anything worth anything, the list goes on. I was overwhelmed by news that dentists I personally knew have been victimized by these elements, all of them survived the ordeal, with their lives. We could consider them the more fortunate ones.
Boon or bane? Television publicity of this issue promotes heightened awareness of this threat within the dental community. On the other hand it may also give would be criminals the idea that dental clinics being an easy target, a defenseless prey. Newbie criminals have been given the idea, now the criminal community knows.
Just a thought.
We better be prepared.
Until every clinic has its own security personnel frisking every individual who walks through our doors, we are merely sitting ducks waiting to be victimized sooner or later. The PDA recommends working on a by appointment basis only, catering only to known patients the used of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras for surveillance, employing additional male personnel, security services, or plainly arming ourselves. Sad it may sound we can not be that too accomodating to walk-ins any longer. Not anymore. We can never tell who’s who.
Written by:
Dr. Ray G. Rosario
