Report targets cost of dental care

THE price of dental care could fall following a critical examination of the industry which revealed dentists are banned from offering discounts.

Dental treatment costs have consistently increased above the general rate of inflation over the past 15 years, The Competition Authority report disclosed.

The authority said it was not surprising that some consumers travelled abroad for dental services as competition among dentists was actively discouraged, including restrictions on advertising.

Thirteen recommended reforms were yesterday put forward by the authority.

Declan Purcell, director of The Competition Authority’s advocacy division, said adopting the recommendations would create modern regulation for dentists.

“This will ensure that the health and safety of the public is protected while at the same time encouraging value for money and choice in dental services,” he said. “The implementation of these recommendations will empower consumers to make informed choices about their oral health and to obtain dental services from a wider range of qualified professionals.”

The preliminary report on the profession noted hygienists and technicians were being prevented from offering basic services. It said dentists were being discouraged from attracting customers through normal methods of competition such as discounts and advertising.

The investigation is one of several into some of the most lucrative professions, including lawyers and doctors.

The Competition Authority noted that around 1,750 dentists were practicing in the private sector offering their services direct to the public. But it said the state subsidised dental services through a variety of schemes and, in 2004, contributed over €100 million to dentists’ services.

In the last few years, as the cost of dental care rose above the rate of health inflation, people have travelled across Europe in search of cheaper treatment. Between 1990 and 2004, the Consumer Price Index increased by 56% and, while health inflation hit 129%, dental fees grew by 140%.

The report noted restrictions on advertising and suggested consumers were, as such, unnecessarily limited in their choice of dentists.

The authority said there were unnecessary obstacles put in the way of dentists trying to offer new services to consumers or to deliver their services in new ways.

It blamed the restrictions on the 1985 Dentists Act and rules imposed by the Dental Council which the Authority said needed to be amended.

The dental association said it broadly welcomed the thrust of the report’s recommendations, which are clearly aimed at the Dental Council rather than individual dentists.