Parents urged to raise school dental scheme delays with politicians on doorsteps

Dentists raised concerns that screening delays mean some miss out on dental help. Picture: File

Dentists have urged parents to make school dental schemes one of the issues they raise with politicians on their doorsteps, after it emerged that more than 100,000 children missed out on screenings last year.

Dr Gillian Smith, speaking during the Irish Dental Association (IDA) annual conference in Killarney, said she is concerned that delays in screening mean families miss out on help in tackling problems with their children's teeth.

“There may be a degree of embarrassment or shame, in that a parent feels ‘my child has a cavity and that’s my fault’, as opposed to my child needs orthodontics,” she said.

“But that’s not right either, because as a parent if you haven’t been given the public health message when your child is in infancy, then you can’t enact habits and routines for dieting and cleaning.” 

She urged people to bring up school dental programmes with politicians on the doorsteps.

“The more that the people who can effect change in the country hear about it, the more likely it is to happen.”

Dentists learn new skills during a demonstration at the Irish Dental Association conference in Killarney this week. Picture: Don MacMonagle/IDA

Working in Roscrea, Dr Will Rymer treats families from three counties and says each county is dealing with the shortage of dentists for public services differently.

“In Tipperary they are seeing all of the fourth class only, and they are seeing a reasonable number of those patients,” he said.

But in Offaly and Laois, they are often not seeing children for the first time until they are in TY year in secondary school, which is unfathomable.

Dr Rymer, chair of the IDA’s GP committee, said: “Often I’m seeing a patient at 11 or 12, first time ever in a dentist's. I’m saying to them ‘well, you’ve got cavities in your adult teeth’.”

Dentists at the Irish Dental Association conference in Killarney. Picture: Don MacMonagle/IDA

Leanne Lally spent hundreds of euro on her daughter's teeth when she could not access public dental care.

Her eldest daughter is almost 10 and has not had any school appointments, despite her mother spotting issues when she was just six.

The state policy is for children in second, fourth, and sixth classes to be screened, with follow-on appointments if needed. Other ages can only be seen as emergencies.

“There was a cavity forming but she didn’t have any pain or discomfort,” Leanne said.

“She hadn’t been in contact with a dentist; there was no screening at the time and no talk of it at the school.” 

She approached her local HSE dental office in Wicklow.

“She wasn’t considered an emergency because she wasn’t having any pain, but I could see there was a visible problem there,” Leanne said.

The family chose to go private rather than wait for potential screening, including a crown and fissure sealants to prevent decay.

“It’s all really expensive. You’re looking at €300 here,” she said. “I’ve definitely paid a lot more than that, because my eldest needed follow-on work done on her mouth.” 

Leanne is now worried that her younger daughters will not get screened when their turn comes.

“My friends are experiencing the exact same thing; they’ve all ended up having to pay privately," she said.

She wants more supports for parents. “It’s something they need to work on," she said. "It’s going to have huge implications for dental care in the future.”