The current system of dental care for people with disabilities is "often ad-hoc and unsatisfactory", the chairwoman of the National Disability Authority, Angela Kerins, has claimed.
Ms Kerins was speaking at the publication of a report which found that people with a disability experienced more oral health problems than the rest of the population.
The report states that a national oral health survey within the disability community in 2002-2003 found that 30 per cent more dental decay was untreated in children with a disability than in those without.
The study also found that children with disabilities had more extractions and less preventive work.
"Adults with disabilities had more missing teeth, needed more dental treatment and were 20 per cent more likely to have no teeth at all if they were over 55 compared with non-disabled adults," it found.
The report, called Oral Health and Disability - the Way Forward, is published jointly by the National Disability Authority, the Dental Health Foundation and Trinity College School of Dental Science.
The report says that good oral health empowers people with disabilities "to face the world with more confidence, promoting their participation and contribution".
"Good oral health can promote communication, good nutrition, self-esteem and quality of life, and lead to a reduction or elimination of pain," it says..
"Poor oral health - bad breath, overcrowded teeth or unsightly decay - can reduce a person's ability to consume nutritious food, affect self-image and confidence and cause significant pain which a person with a disability might not be able to communicate.
"This in turn can be the cause of further frustration and even damage such as self-harm. The essential benefits arising from oral health cannot be underestimated."
The report says the current health structure poses many challenges to the delivery of an equitable oral health service.
Yet only small changes needed to be made in order to see big differences in the oral health and disability sector.
These proposals include the provision of education and training for the whole dental health team, mainstreaming health provision for people with disabilities and the promotion of accessibility and equity.
The report says oral health needs to become integrated into holistic health policy, service provision and professional training and development.
