Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 January 2021
200. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a large volume of dental practices are no longer treating persons under the medical card scheme; if funding will be made available to compensate medical card holders who have been put in financial distress as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1998/21]
View answerThe Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) provides dental care free of charge to medical card holders aged 16 and over. These services are provided by approximately 1,400 independent dental practitioners who have a contract with the HSE. I understand that since March 2020, 180 dentists have withdrawn from the Scheme and that 78 new applications are being processed. This is within the normal range of fluctuations of dentists participating in the Scheme in recent years.
Patients may choose to have their treatment undertaken by any dentist who participates in the Scheme. The HSE will assist medical card holders in accessing such treatment if required.
While the interruption to services caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic had led to some delays in the provision of non-emergency care, data to the end of 2020 suggest that activity levels in the DTSS have been increasing and that by December 2020 activity in the DTSS had reached almost 90% of the December 2019 level.
My Department has been engaging with dentists and with the HSE throughout the pandemic and will continue to engage with them to ensure that the oral health of the public is supported during these difficult times.
