New figures have shown that just 866 dentists are signed up to the medical card scheme.
The number is down more than 1,350 when compared with 2020, representing a 35% drop.
The figures were obtained by Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, President of the Irish Dental Association Dr Bridget Harrington-Barry said that there was a number of reasons for the drop-off.
“There really isn’t one single reason for this drop of dentist participation in the scheme,” she said.
“The scheme has become increasingly difficult for dentists to deliver sustainably. This is really about having a scheme that is sustainable for patient, dentist and the State.”
Ms Harrington-Barry said that the structure of the scheme needed to be redesigned.
“There have been band-aids attached to this scheme for years and years and years,” she said.
“In 2010, the HSE imposed unilateral cuts which alter the scheme to a budget-led scheme.
“There needs to be a redesign around the needs of the patient and the realities of delivering modern dentistry in today’s world.
“Unfortunately the scheme has become very budget-led, so it is you’re entitled over the year for two fillings and any amount of extractions that you need.
“I think even to a layperson that scheme would feel like it’s broken. Your mouth doesn’t know what its annual entitlement is and a patient’s clinical need doesn’t fit neatly into an annual entitlement.
“The longer treatment is left undone, the more painful it becomes and the more complex the treatment becomes to resolve things.”
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Ms Harrington-Barry described the Government as being “a penny wise and a pound foolish” in relation to the scheme, but welcomed any improvements that could be made to the scheme, despite those being very small improvements.
“They’re saving money by restricting the treatment that can be provided on the scheme,” she said.
“But then money is being spent by providing more complex treatment, maybe under a hospital setting.
“It’s not perfect and small improvements are always very welcome, but they are very small improvements.
“I think it’s 50,000 treatments that have been provided rather than extra patients. That increase in extra patients, if you consider the increase in the population and the eligible population, it’s a very, very small increase.
“At the end of the day, we want a scheme that is sustainable for the patient, for the dentist and for the State, and we want the Government to be open to new ideas.”
Ms Harrington-Barry said that no talks were currently scheduled with the Department of Health on the matter.
“We’re talking about them, but there are no talks scheduled at the moment,” she said.
“That policy has been published since 2019, we’re waiting seven years. We’re hoping that by the by the end of September that there will be some more news on this.”