Vol. 489 No. 5
111 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Health and Children the dental services available to teenage children with a medical card; the dental services available to teenage children without a medical card; and the plans, if any, he has to alleviate charges to parents. [8480/98]
Dental treatment services for children are being developed in accordance with the dental health action plan. The plan provides for the extension of eligibility for dental services to children after they leave national school up to 16 years of age on a phased basis. Eligibility for dental services has already, been extended to children up to their fourteenth birthday. Free dental services to other teenage children without medical card eligibility are not available.
Routine dental treatment is provided by health boards to eligible children by extending the targeted approach which is currently used in the national schools. Children who have left national school are recalled for screening and provided with appropriate preventive and primary care dental treatment for any defects noted in the course of screening. These children are provided with emergency treatment to relieve pain on demand. I have provided health boards with additional resources to implement the extension. Health boards are implementing the extension according as they have the necessary additional dental staff in place.
