Thousands of teens ‘denied vital dental treatment’

VITAL orthodontic treatment for thousands of teenagers has been run off the tracks by the Department of Health and Children, one of the country’s leading specialists has claimed.

Yesterday, witnesses before an Oireachtas Committee gave evidence of savage neglect by a department, which has allowed vested interests within the profession to railroad the system.

The meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children heard damning evidence of gross mismanagement of orthodontic treatment in Ireland.

Vested interests, the committee was told, had caused lengthy delays for public patients and soaring treatment costs for the State.

Progressive Democrats TD Fiona O’Malley says the situation is so grave that intervention by the Minister for Health is required.

But Health Minister Micheál Martin has argued that while some problems need to be straightened, he has put in place a robust plan for the future of public health orthodontics.

Ms O’Malley proposed a motion yesterday, which was agreed by the committee, requesting the minister to appear before it and to take action.

“The solution to this appalling and unnecessary mess is in the ministers’ hands. The problem stems from a decision in 1999 to change the method of training of orthodontists in this country which had the effect of creating a ‘closed shop’ in the profession and drastically reducing the amount of public treatments available,” she argued.

“The Minister for Health needs to explain why the Dental Council, largely composed of private practitioners, allowed the training regime for orthodontists to be changed, suiting its own vested interests and having a hugely negative impact on public waiting lists.”

The Dental Council would argue, she said, this change was to regulate standards but expert witnesses strongly refuted this claim.

Ted McNamara, a highly qualified consultant, told the committee that the change made by the Dental Council “had more to do with protecting the interests of private practitioners than standards of treatment”.

A direct result of the Dental Council's actions was to abandon the treatment of thousands of children mid-stream.

“Clearly, vested interests have been allowed to override the public interest. The committee has a duty to scrutinise why was this was allowed,” he said.