“CHILDREN WON’T HAVE A TOOTH LEFT IN THEIR HEADS IF THIS STATE DOESN’T GET IT ACT TOGETHER AROUND HSE DENTAL SCREENINGS”.
That’s according to Aontu Cllr Aontú Cllr Emer Tóibín who says she has firsthand experience of how ‘broken the system is’ ,saying that though 8 years in primary school , her son had his first HSE dental screening yesterday (27th March).
She says
“My first year son had his first dental screening appointment yesterday under the HSE school screening dental service. During his 8 years in primary school, he was never called for a screening appointment. The fact that he—like hundreds of thousands of other children across the country—was never called for a screening in primary school speaks volumes about how broken the system is. Tooth decay is a terribly serious health issue and can cause lots of other serious health issues”
“Primary school children should have check-ups in second, fourth and sixth class, however, the system has all but ground to a halt and most children have not and do not get their one and only screening appointment until they are in secondary school. This means that some children are missing out on vital early intervention, resulting in more drastic treatment or, in the worst cases, extractions being required during the formative teenage and early adult years”.
“Fittingly, the Irish Dental Association has confirmed there was a backlog of more than 10 years in many parts of the country in accessing the HSE School Dental Screening Services. Unsurprisingly, the backlog continues to lengthen”.
“A 25% drop in public-only dentists over 15 years is a clear sign of government neglect. This isn’t just an administrative failure—it has real consequences for children’s health. The longer we ignore this, the worse the backlog becomes and the more serious the issues become”.
“I raised this crisis in 2022 and I am raising it again today. I am urging the Government to address this as a critical priority, to ensure children are receiving the care they are entitled to under our public dental system to save them from pain and unnecessary and invasive treatments later”.
“Aontú is always mindful of the need to get value for the taxpayer but if the government continually fails to provide an attractive and appropriate salary to public dentists, things will not and cannot change. Unfilled vacancies in our public services are now the norm with staff burnout & retention issues on the increase. Who wants to join a system where stress and frustration are guaranteed? Longer waiting lists means patients, especially children, suffer the most. Privatisation by default, means families who can afford it have to go privately, deepening inequality”.
“Government inaction on recruitment and retention has essential services to the brink. It cannot continue to ignore this crisis. If they don’t offer competitive salaries, improved working conditions, and real incentives, public services will collapse even further”.
“This pattern is replicated across children mental health and disability services also. The cost of not front-loading public services generates a far greater cost to the healthcare user and the public purse down the line. Cutting corners today means paying far more in crisis management later—both in terms of taxpayer money and human suffering. We pay taxes for this service, yet the service is not there.”
“Thankfully the Dentist picked up on an issue with my Son’s teeth yesterday and gave him the necessary treatment, thus preventing the issue from developing into a more serious, potentially painful and expensive problem”.
“Other children are not so lucky, and this is a disgraceful situation”.
