1,500 teens wait up to 3 years for dental care

More than 1,500 Cork and Kerry teens are being forced to wait up to three years for vital public dentist appointments — a situation the HSE claims is a success story.

New figures revealed at the latest regional health forum show that, at the start of this year, a massive 1,511 children and teenagers were on waiting lists for the specialist care in the region.

While a full breakdown is not available, senior HSE officials said that in general “priority patients” are seen within one year while others are told to wait as long as three years.

Before an orthodontics consultant was appointed for the region in 2009, waiting lists for the service were as long as eight years, resulting in the potential for significant orthodontics problems in growing children.

However, despite the fact the public care wait is still three years for general cases, the HSE told the regional health forum it is positive news.

Pointing to the reduction in waiting times, Cork community services area manager, Deirdre Scully, explained: “Waiting lists have reduced from eight years to three years for routine treatment since the consultant took on the service, with priority patients seen within one year.

“Often, a shorter timeframe can be achieved.”

Figures revealed by the Irish Dental Association last summer show that between 15,000 and 20,000 children are on waiting lists for orthodontic treatment across Ireland.

The organisation said at the time that many of these patients, the majority of whom are children and teens, are being told they cannot access the care they need for up to five years — a situation the association blamed on Government cutbacks.

At the time, association president Dr Andrew Bolas said the difficulties are “unacceptable” in a 21st century country as they can have damaging implications to children and teenagers long-term health.

Separate HSE figures revealed last year also show that there has been a massive 20% increase in the number of children on orthodontic waiting lists since 2008.

The association has repeatedly blamed this situation on chronic staff shortages, the controversial HSE recruitment embargo and changes to patient financial support through the medical card scheme.

Cork and Kerry are among the worst affected areas in the country, with Laois, Offaly, and Sligo also reporting concerning waiting list rates in recent years.

The delays are being further exacerbated by the fact that, while under-16s are entitled to free dental health screening and should be examined three times in primary school, some children are only receiving their first screening in sixth class.