Closure of dental clinic 'a disgrace'

Dentists have described the closure of a dental clinic at St James' Hospital, without putting alternatives in place, as a disgrace.

The Irish Dental Association says the St James clinic treats 3,000 five-to-seven year old children a year, many of whom require multiple teeth pulled.

The Association says it is the latest in a series of stealth cuts by the HSE to an "already depleted service".

The IDA is warning that the failure to treat these children in a timely manner poses an unacceptable risk to their health and the raises the possibility of severe dental infection.