Dental services in Dublin South West at ‘crisis point’, says TD Ward

Sinn Fein TD for Dublin Mid West, Mark Ward said that the dental services in Dublin South West have “collapsed” over the past two years.

Deputy Ward says that waiting lists for dental and orthodontic treatments have hit “crisis point” with dentists dropping out of the medical card scheme “in record numbers.”

“More than 27% of dentists in the Dublin South West area having left the medical card dental scheme in the last five years,” says Deputy Ward.

“This crisis is underlined in the collapse in spending on dental treatment in Dublin South West by 37%.

“The Irish Dental Association highlighted their concerns recently in the Health Committee, stating that difficulty in accessing dental treatment contributes to poor oral health and greater healthcare costs.

“The burden of this disproportionately falls on lower income groups, especially those who rely on medical cards,” he says.

“Dentists have expressed ethical as well as practical concerns about unilateral cuts to the dental scheme imposed during austerity.

“This devastated dentists’ ability to deliver quality care to medical card patients.

“The HSE dental and orthodontic waiting lists continue to spiral out of control.

“There are now more than 6,737 people waiting more than 2 years for orthodontic services, and 2,439 waiting more than 4.

“The number of new patients seen by HSE Oral Health in Dublin South West collapsed last year by 61%

“Care delayed is care denied and the crisis in health continues to get worse under this Government.”