New figures have shown that just 866 dentists are signed up to the medical card scheme.<\/p>\n
The number is down more than 1,350 when compared with 2020, representing a 35% drop.<\/p>\n
The figures were obtained by Fianna F\u00e1il TD Malcolm Byrne.<\/p>\n
Speaking on RT\u00c9’s Drivetime, President of the Irish Dental Association Dr Bridget Harrington-Barry said that there was a number of reasons for the drop-off.<\/p>\n
“There really isn’t one single reason for this drop of dentist participation in the scheme,” she said.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Ms Harrington-Barry said that the structure of the scheme needed to be redesigned.<\/p>\n
“There have been band-aids attached to this scheme for years and years and years,” she said.<\/p>\n
“In 2010, the HSE imposed unilateral cuts which alter the scheme to a budget-led scheme.<\/p>\n
“There needs to be a redesign around the needs of the patient and the realities of delivering modern dentistry in today’s world.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“The longer treatment is left undone, the more painful it becomes and the more complex the treatment becomes to resolve things.”<\/p>\n