Dubai dentist in trouble after free prize giveaway causes huge traffic jam

Ziyath Dental Clinic apologies after hundreds descend on the Al Wasl Road practice

An image from social media shows large crowds outside Ziyath Dental Clinic.

A dental practice is in trouble for hosting a prize giveaway that caused a huge traffic jam in Jumeirah.

The clinic on Al Wasl Road is facing legal action from the authorities over the stunt, according to Dubai Health Authority, which regulates the medicine and dental industry.

Ziyath Dental Clinic apologised for the disruption caused on Friday and said "we were unable to control the situation" as crowds queued for hours.

It had earlier promised to give away more iPhones, AirPods, Playstations, televisions, 200 power banks, food and more from 5pm.

Images on social media showed hundreds of people queuing outside, pressing themselves against the glass at one stage.

By the evening, police vehicles could be seen on the street outside as the authorities sought to control the situation.

The health authority said the practice carried out a "marketing and promotional campaign without getting final approval".

"Moreover, it did not follow advertising protocols. The clinic announced prizes and giveaways including TVs and mobile phones to clinic visitors, which caused a traffic jam on Al Wasl Road," a statement read.

In an Instagram post, the clinic said it would hand out gifts on social media and offer discounts for the inconvenience.

"Apologies to everyone. We were not expecting this amount of people to attend. People arrived before 5pm and we were unable to control the situation," the clinic said.

"People were unwilling to co-operate and everyone was asking for the gifts. We tried to separate the men from the women to hand out the gifts but we were unable to do the needful.

"Once again I apologise for everything that happened."

The incident is not the first time the health authority has had to act against the dental industry.

DHA has previously caught out other dentists for flouting basic regulations. It inspected 59 clinics in Dubai in 2017, issuing seven warnings and handing out 25 fines for misdemeanours related to fraud, waste and abuse.

Last year, a mystery shopping exercise found some dentists offered expensive and pointless treatments offered to patients to boost profits.