GAZA, (PIC)
Citizen Sami Ali roams the streets of the city of Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, searching for a dental clinic, as most of them have ceased to operate due to power outages and shortages of fuel and gas needed to operate the generators.
Ali said in an interview with the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that he had to roam the streets of the city, which is crowded with displaced people, for several days in search of a dental clinic to treat his son who is groaning from severe toothache.
He added that his 7-year-old son, Muhammad, suffers from severe tooth decay, causing him excruciating pain that prevents him from sleeping, and due to the disastrous conditions, he was unable to find a working clinic.
In the early days of the start of the genocide war in Gaza, the Israeli war minister announced a ban on the entry of fuel, water and electricity into the Gaza Strip, describing its inhabitants as “human animals”.
Clinics out of service
Since then, the horrific crises in the devastated sector have been unfolding, with the health sector bearing the brunt of them, as hospitals and health centers have been the target of the Israeli army’s terrorist practices.
The PIC correspondent was on a tour of the small town where it is hardly possible to find a foothold, and when he found a dental clinic owned by Dr. Muhammad Khatib, he entered his clinic only to be shocked by the doctor’s inability to work.
The doctor told the correspondent that his clinic is not functioning due to the depletion of the fuel and gas allocated to operate his private generator, in addition to the destruction of solar panels due to the savage Israeli bombardment since the start of the war.
He explained that the visitors to his clinic are overwhelmed with a sense of pain and regret when they find his clinic not functioning, as tooth pain is unbearable, which puts tremendous pressure on fathers and mothers, in addition to the majority of patients turning to the few clinics that are still operating in the city, leading to severe overcrowding.
The doctor pointed to a severe shortage of materials necessary for dental treatment, the most important of which are root canal treatment materials and anesthesia materials.
Since the start of the war of annihilation, Gaza’s hospitals have been targets for the occupation, as no hospitals are currently operational in the city of Gaza and its northern areas, in addition to 4 hospitals and 2 clinics in the city of Rafah going out of service. This clearly confirms that the healthcare system is in a state of actual collapse.
Using alternatives
In the same context, a dentist confirmed that the devastating war in Gaza led to a shortage of dental treatment supplies, which prompted her to search for alternatives, including materials used by dental technicians.
Dentist Samah Abu Nahla said, “We suffered from a severe shortage of dental treatment tools, so we had to look for alternatives to the commonly used dental supplies. For example, temporary fillings were very scarce at the beginning of the war, so we had to use Teflon instead.”
She added that Teflon is a non-moldable material, so it is safe to use in teeth as an alternative to temporary fillings, in addition to many other things we used as alternatives in treating dental problems and relieving severe pain.
The dentist emphasized that the motive behind using Teflon or other alternatives was the inability to access dental treatment tools from the crossings, as they were considered non-essential supplies, although they are very necessary.
She continued, “Attention was given to burns and diseases, but very little attention was paid to teeth, so we had to look for any alternative or any material we could use as a substitute for dental treatment.”
It should be noted that Israel has been closing the crossings between it and the Gaza Strip, as well as imposing restrictions on the entry of goods into the Strip through the borders with Egypt, since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza last October.
