Dental services for people with medical cards in 'a state of almost permanent collapse'

An appointment to clean and polish teeth can cost from €80 privately. Workers who pay PRSI are entitled to this once a year for €15. File photo

Only 25 dentists in Kerry and 13 in Clare take medical card patients, while just a quarter of the 200 who do it in Cork are outside the city, new HSE figures show.

Around the country, dental services for over 1.5 million people with medical cards are in “a state of almost permanent collapse”, the Irish Dental Association (IDA) warned.