New Report Suggests Medical Card Holders Should Pay for Better Dental Care

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A new report has suggested that medical card holders in Ireland should contribute to their dental care costs in order to receive a more comprehensive service.

The report, which was compiled by the Irish Dental Association and dental schools in Cork and Dublin, claims that medical card holders should be encouraged to use a form of co-payment to enable them to receive better standards of dental care. Dental experts claim that the preference would be to enable every medical card holder to access free preventative treatment, including a check-up and hygiene session each year. However, this option was not financially viable.

In recognition of tight budgets, the report proposed “the intelligent use of co-payments” as a means of coping with demand and improving standards of oral health.

Members of the forum also supported the continued use of fluoridation as a means of reducing rates of decay among the entire population.

The report also supported the introduction of free dental cover for children aged under 6 years old. The Government is currently planning to make GP services free for under 6’s and the Irish Dental Association believes the proposals should be extended to include dental care, especially as statistics show that more and more young children are showing signs of dental decay.

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