Leo questions figures in teen dental care row

LEO Varadkar has cast doubt over claims that as many as 10,000 children a year under the age of 15 need their teeth pulled out in hospital under general anaesthetic.

The Irish Dental Association, which published the figures, described the figures as a ‘disgrace’, saying the rate of hospital cases could be up to five times worse than the UK’s.

But the Health Minister told RTÉ Radio: ‘I’m informed by the HSE and the chief dental officer that their [IDA’s] figures are incorrect.

‘There are 3,600 such cases in Ireland, not 10,000, and that includes day cases – and may even be an overestimate. So I’m going to ask the chief dental officer to look into these claims. But initial information is that their claims are incorrect.’

In a statement yesterday, the HSE denied the figures put out by the dentists’ industry body and said it believed the real figure to be in the about 3,600 a year.

Separately yesterday, a poll of HSE dental surgeons, who are also members of the dental association, has found a fifth of all dentists have missed work due to work-related stress.

The highest cause of stress, according to the poll, was the lack of secondary care services for patients, in particular for those needing general anaesthetic services.

Fintan Hourihan, chief executive of the IDA, told a meeting of HSE dentists how morale in the service was ‘on the floor’.

He said: ‘Sixty per cent say they regularly feel stressed at work and this is simply not sustainable. The problem is all of the children on these waiting lists need urgent treatment and all need general anaesthetic. Yet dentists are being asked to subdivide them. While acute cases are prioritised, less acute cases, which include young children often requiring four or more extractions, can wait up to a year. This is simply not acceptable.’