Huge rise in numbers availing of PRSI dental scheme

The extended PRSI dental scheme introduced last year has been extremely successful, with a huge rise in uptake and a projected fourfold increase in the money spent on the scheme, according to the Irish Dental Association.

At the end of October, the Government reinstated PRSI dental benefits that had been cut during the recession and opened up the scheme to the self-employed and farmers who make certain PRSI contributions.

The scheme is now expected to cost the Government well over €40 million in a full year.

The previous reduced dental benefit scheme cost the Government €10.5 million in 2016, but following the introduction of the new entitlements at the end of last October, costs for November and December alone totalled €8.3 million.

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As well as a free annual check-up, the scheme now covers a payment of €42 towards either a scale and polish (if it costs more the balance paid by the patient is capped at €15) or clinically necessary periodontal treatment. There is no cap on the balance that can be charged for periodontal treatment.

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is now forecasting a 38 per cent increase in dental examinations in 2018 compared with 2009, a 24 per cent increase in scale and polish treatments in 2018 compared with 2009, and a 450 per cent increase in protracted periodontal treatments in 2018 compared with 2009.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Irish Dental Association CEO Fintan Hourihan described the increased uptake of the new scheme as hugely positive.

Extremely positive

“The response to the new scheme has been extremely positive. It is making a real difference in terms of encouraging people to attend their dentist. Prevention is better than cure, both in terms of physical health and long-term costs,” he said.

During the recession the cuts to the PRSI dental scheme and to fees for treating medical card patients removed approximately €100 million per year from public dental treatment services. This caused great financial hardship for dentists and had a huge negative impact on the nation’s oral health, Mr Hourihan said.

Dentists, like GPs and pharmacists, are pushing for the reversal of their medical card fee cuts made under the 2009 Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Act.

Dentists are also seeking the recommencement of talks on a new public dental contract. The current contract dates back to 1984, and is extremely outdated and unfit for purpose, Mr Hourihan said.

Contract talks stalled back in 2007 due to competition law concerns, but these issues have been resolved for GPs who are currently in a negotiation process, so dental talks should also recommence, he said.

2018 is a major year for dental health changes in Ireland, Mr Hourihan said, with a major new national oral health policy due to be published this summer. The last national oral health policy was published in 1994, and the new policy involved a three-year development process.

New legislation is also due to be published this year to modernise the regulation of the dental profession in Ireland and replace the Dentists Act 1985.