NAGOYA - Dental clinics are facing higher costs for gloves, masks and other supplies made from naphtha-derived materials, even as shortages ease following renewed conflict in the Middle East that has disrupted naphtha supplies.
At Johoku Dental Clinic in Nagoya’s Kita Ward, many of the materials used every day are derived from naphtha, including rubber gloves, masks, aprons placed over patients’ chests and sterilization bags used to wrap treatment instruments.
Hiroshi Goto, director of Johoku Dental Clinic and Orthodontics, said the supply situation has largely stabilized for now, but prices remain a burden. "At this point, things have calmed down quite a bit. However, partly because of the naphtha shock, prices for materials such as gloves have surged," Goto said.
The problem now is not a shortage of goods but rising prices. Rubber gloves are a particular concern because they are changed two or three times for each patient. The clinic uses about 6,000 gloves a month, increasing monthly expenses by about 8,000 yen.
The government began releasing 50 million stockpiled rubber gloves in May, but Goto said the scale of demand remains large. "There are 60,000 dental clinics alone nationwide. If many clinics use around 1,000 gloves a week, it feels a little uncertain," he said.
The clinic had created an inventory management chart through June, when shortages were severe, ranking materials by how difficult they were to obtain. The most difficult item to secure at the time was patient aprons, and the clinic is still trying to conserve supplies. "We were cutting them in half and using them," Goto said.
Medical institutions cannot pass on higher wholesale prices to patients because insured treatment fees are fixed. The main support they can rely on is the government’s revision of medical service fees. On June 1, fees were revised as a measure against rising prices, adding 10 yen per patient. But Goto said the increase has not kept pace with the sharp rise in material costs.
Asked whether 10 yen is enough, Goto said, "We have to make our own efforts." He said prices would need to rise roughly in line with materials such as masks, which have become 1.2 to 1.3 times more expensive. "If they rose by about that much, it would be helpful," he said.
The outlook for the Middle East became even more uncertain after a large-scale U.S. attack on the morning of July 8. Goto said the clinic will continue doing what it can to maintain supplies. "What we can do is steadily keep inventory. It would be even better if prices came down," he said.
Source: CBC
