It is a top priority for myself and for the Government to improve patient access to oral healthcare services, both in the short term through a range of measures, and in the long term through transformational reform of oral healthcare services in Ireland. This reform will be achieved through implementation of the National Oral Health Policy.
I, along with officials from my Department, met with the Irish Dental Association (IDA) on 20 November 2020. My officials then continued to engage with the IDA on a package of measures introduced from 1 May 2022, to expand the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) for adult medical card holders and increase the fees paid to contractors for most treatment items by 40-60%. The numbers of patients being seen and the numbers of treatments being provided under the DTSS have all increased in recent months.
In addition, the Chief Dental Officer and other officials in the Department of Health met with the IDA on 29 July 2022 and 2 December 2022 to discuss implementation of the National Oral Health Policy. I will be meeting the IDA again on Monday, 24th April.
At end-March 2023, there were 21 dentists registered on the DTSS in Louth and 11 in Meath.
I am aware that there are some towns with no or limited DTSS dentists that have sufficient capacity to accept new patients. Where access to a dentist is difficult, local HSE services assist patients who make enquiries and make lists of DTSS contractors available to medical card holders. In exceptional circumstances, the HSE assists patients to access emergency dental treatment by directly contacting private contractors or arranging treatment to be provided by HSE-employed dentists.
An additional allocation of €15 million has been made in Budget 2023 to enhance the provision of oral healthcare services. This includes €5 million allocated on a once-off basis to support the HSE Public Dental Service to provide care this year, including through a HSE ‘safety-net’ service for adult medical card holders who are in need of emergency care and are still having difficulty accessing a local dentist.
