More than 1,500 children waiting for dental extractions

The HSE said that Covid-19 has had an "adverse effect on waiting lists and times". File picture: Rui Vieira/PA Wire

More than 1,500 children are now waiting for dental extractions under general anaesthetic, new figures reveal.

The HSE had hoped to carry out 153,516 scheduled dental and orthodontic assessments in 2020. However, this is down 65% after services shut at the beginning of the pandemic.

Figures obtained by Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane from the HSE show that, while elective dental procedures have been gradually resuming, just 10% of services went ahead between March and May of this year as many HSE dental staff were redeployed to testing and tracing.

Mr Cullinane said this is not a surprise as services were paused during the initial months of the pandemic. However, he said it shows the level of catch up that needs to be done.

"Waiting lists are growing out of control and it is going to be incredibly difficult to bring them down. Operating at full capacity, the health service at best operates at a steady-state," said Mr Cullinane.

The HSE said that Covid-19 has had an "adverse effect on waiting lists and times".

"If there had been no pandemic, based on the 2019 data, it is estimated that 29,110 children would have been seen for dental examinations during the restricted period," the HSE said.

Meanwhile, there are 1,530 children waiting for dental extractions under general anaesthetic. The problem is particularly pronounced in CHO 8, which takes in a number of counties in the midlands, where 387 children are on the waiting list.

CHO 5, which covers South Tipperary, Carlow/ Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford, has 303 children on the waiting list, 60 of whom have been waiting for over a year.

"Only through outsourcing to private providers have waiting lists in general come down, but that will be extremely difficult in the area of dental and orthodontic services which is already majority private and with dentists withdrawing from the medical card scheme by the day," Mr Cullinane said.