Dentists warn over cut in dental scheme

DENTISTS HAVE warned that medical cardholders may be offered rudimentary tooth extractions or antibiotics rather than fillings from next month because of funding cutbacks.

The Irish Dental Association (IDA) said yesterday a 30 per cent cut in funding for the medical card dental scheme, announced in the last budget, would lead to more than half a million fewer treatments for medical cardholders, children and special needs patients.

The association, which represents more than 2,000 dentists, said the cutbacks amounted to a “wholesale rationing” of treatments that would push the state of dental services back decades.

At a press briefing in Dublin, the association warned that patients may be forced to resort to legal action to force the State to provide appropriate dental care.

The reduction in funding for the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS), which allows medical cardholders avail of a range of basic dental treatments, is to be reduced from € 86 million in 2009 to € 64 million this year.

Under the new funding arrangements, the IDA claimed standard treatments such as fillings and basic root canal work would only be allowed under approved emergency circumstances which may take several weeks.

The combined effect of the cutbacks and a rapid rise in the number of medical cardholders would result in 30 per cent fewer dental treatments, the association said.

In practice, this meant 181,000 less fillings, 93,600 less check-ups, 32,000 less extractions and 12,300 less denture treatments per year, it said.

The IDA said it was “grossly irresponsible” of the Health Service Executive to cut spending with hundreds of thousands more people now holding medical cards.

The association’s chief executive, Fintan Hourihan, warned if the HSE proceeded with these cutbacks, which are due to take effect next month, the dental health of hundreds of thousands of people would be damaged.

“There has never been a situation in the history of medical card schemes where there has been such a blatant interference with the best interests of patients,” Mr Hourihan said. “As it is, the system is barely limping along. These new cuts are akin to the introduction of rationing.

The IDA called on Minister for Health Mary Harney and the HSE to examine alternative means of limiting the impact of the cuts, including supplementary funding or using the National Treatment Purchase Fund for dental care.

Responding to the IDA’s criticism yesterday, the HSE said spending on the publicly funded dental scheme was capped in the budget for 2010 at 2008 levels. While it would be working within its budget allocation, it said some dental services were now cheaper than they were in 2008.