The structure and funding of public dental services have been “badly neglected”, a new report has said, with TDs and senators calling on the Minister to take “urgent action” to improve the sector.
The joint Oireachtas Health Committee on Thursday published a report on dental services in Ireland, following a number of meetings with representatives on the challenges facing the sector.
The report highlighted a number of issues, including a halving in the number of contracted dentists on the medical card scheme in a decade. It also says “too many children are leaving primary school without ever having had a dental screening”.
The report said the Dentists Act has not been updated and was “putting the public at risk” due to the lack of powers afforded to the Dental Council – the dental profession’s regulator – to take action against many unregistered dentists.
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The document makes 19 recommendations, encompassing policy actions, legislative changes and improving system capacity, among other areas.
Pádraig Rice, health spokesman for the Social Democrats and chair of the committee, said it was seven years since the National Oral Health Policy was published.
“We are still waiting for an implementation plan,” he said.
“Since 2019, the situation has only deteriorated. Alarm bells should be going off in the department but the fact of the matter is, public dental services have never been a priority.
“Reform is always talked about, but it never materialises. This must urgently change. Promises of dental reform are no longer enough – it’s time for the Minister for Health to act. I am calling on the Minister to accept and implement the health committee’s 19 recommendations in full.”
The Irish Dental Association said the report reflected the “urgent need for meaningful reform”.
“This report supports our view that significant investment is required to achieve meaningful reforms which offer sufficient access, coverage and quality of care to the general population, particularly those experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage,” the association said.
In submissions to the committee, the Department of Health said it invested more than €240 million annually in the provision of oral healthcare and targeted those most in need of State support to access care.
It said progress on the reform of oral health services was “impacted by the pandemic amongst other things” and has been “slower than anticipated”.
“However, to support a focused and structured implementation of the policy, the department and the HSE are currently developing a three-year implementation plan for the first phase to guide an acceleration of reforms,” the briefing said.
“This plan will be finalised and published in the coming months.”
