Plans by the VHI to offer the public a comprehensive dentalcare scheme from September have been put off, The Irish Times has learned.
The health insurance company still hopes to include some cash benefits for dental treatment in its primary care plan due to be introduced in the autumn, but the plan, which has been flagged as also covering visits to family doctors, will not include comprehensive dental cover.
It is understood, however, that the VHI will work towards developing a comprehensive dental cover scheme in the future.
The scaling down of its draft dental cover policy follows a recent meeting with the Irish Dental Association (IDA).
Despite having "a number of very basic concerns about the proposals", the IDA agreed to the meeting as a result of the VHI's stated commitment to develop the scheme in partnership with the dental profession.
Mr Donal Atkins, secretary-general of the IDA, said the main area of concern of his members would be the loss of clinical independence for family dentists and the resultant danger of a reduction in the standards of care.
He added that the IDA's position was that the patient/family-dentist relationship should exist separately to the insured-client/ insurance-company relationship.
A spokesman for the VHI, Mr David Conway, said the IDA had been made aware of the company's plans but it was "not really appropriate" to negotiate with dentists. He added that the terms of dental cover which would be provided were not yet finalised.
"The dentists would be aware we are doing this but it would not be something we would negotiate with them," he said.
He added that there was "no element of disagreement between us and dentists whatsoever".
The VHI hopes to meet family doctors soon to negotiate an insurance policy which would cover members' visits to their GP. No formal negotiations have taken place and doctors have expressed resistance to the plan.
The Association of GPs is planning to seek an interlocutory injunction preventing the start of the scheme.
Mr Conway said the primary care plan would be made available to everybody, not just existing members.