Irish Dental Association raises concerns over dental services for children
The Irish Dental Association has criticised the government for failing children as it has emerged that some children are waiting until the age of 12 to see a school dentist for the first time.
The IDA believes that cuts to the public dental service are harming children because a severe shortage of dentists is making it hard for children to undergo regular dental checks. On average, children have their first screening at the age of 7 or 8 as part of the school dental programme, but research suggests that some children aren’t seeing a dentist until the age of 12 years old.
There are approximately 300 dentists assigned to provide school treatment, but the IDA believes that a minimum of 150 extra dentists is needed to make the system effective. Representatives have called on Simon Harris, the health minister, to instruct the Health Service Executive to recruit more dentists and increase the availability of services in schools. The IDA is also appealing for tax relief on dental services for low income families.
In response, a spokesperson for the IDA claimed that an extra one million euros per year had been made available for health services for the last three years. The HSE also stated that 822 members of staff are employed in public dental services.
The HSE also suggested that focus is being put on younger children to make sure that they have dental checks before they start secondary school.
Fintan Hourihan, chief executive of the IDA, accused the HSE of “undermining” the ability of public service dental workers to work effectively as a result of a shortage of staff, a lack of policy and the closure of some public clinics.
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