The Irish Dental Association (IDA) says there is an urgent need for around 500 more dentists across private and public services to meet population demand and replace retiring dentists, reports RTE.
IDA chief executive Fintan Hourihane told the Oireachtas Health Commission that oral health was not a priority in government promotion, funding or service delivery.
He said that 80% of the cost of dental care in Ireland is running costs, showing that state support for dental costs is very limited.
Mr Hourihane told the committee that the budget had announced €5m for a backlog of school screenings but had not been allowed to recruit additional public sector dentists with these funds.
He told the committee there was a nearly 10-year backlog of services in parts of the country where children made their first visit in the fourth year of secondary school.
Mr Hourihan said there are now two-year waiting lists for general anesthesia, and dentists are being forced to pick and choose the children they think suffer the most and treat them ahead of patients who are already waiting months or years.
Former IDA president Dr. Carolyn Robbins says dentists often encounter young patients for the first time in high school when it’s too late and the tooth is damaged, reports RTE.
Sinn Féin’s health spokesman, David Cullinane, said his office was flooded with cases where people could not access dental care under the Dental Treatment Service Scheme (DTSS) or had to travel long distances for treatment.
The Ministry of Health said the government allocated more than €200 million last year to provide oral health care.
In addition, an unprecedented additional allocation of EUR 21 million has been reported to be invested to support the Health Service Executive to improve oral hygiene services this year, including EUR 15 million under the 2023 budget and EUR 6 million under the action plan on the waiting list for 2023, reports RTE.
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