Irish heading abroad for cheaper dental treatment
Figures have revealed that an increasingly large number of Irish people are heading abroad for cheaper dental treatment.
Since cutbacks last January over a million people have lost financial benefits and now have to pay full-rate prices for dental care. As a consequence, people are finding it increasingly difficult to afford treatment in Ireland and are choosing to travel abroad in a bid to save money on dental care.
In January the Health Service Executive made extensive cuts in the Medical Card and PRSI schemes, which affected millions of patients. Dentists have been campaigning against the cuts since; however, the HSE has refused to reconsider the spending cuts and has rebuffed any appeals from the Irish Dental Association.
Fintan Hourihan, from the Irish Dental Association, said that the cuts were forcing people abroad because they could no longer afford treatment in Ireland. Hourihan said the HSE had failed both dentists and patients and was making a huge mistake, which would lead to poor standards of oral health across Ireland; he also said that the cuts were nonsensical because costs of dental treatment will be much higher in the future because people are missing out on routine treatment now, which means they will need complex, expensive treatment for advanced conditions in the future.
Many Irish people are now travelling over the border to Northern Ireland, where treatment is significantly cheaper and some are making the journey to Eastern European countries, including Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria for treatment; fees in this part of Europe are up to 60 percent lower than those in Western Europe so a considerable saving can be made even when you take the cost of accommodation and flights into account.
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