Irish dentists vent anger over funding cuts

Over 400 dentists from across the country met at a special meeting in Dublin called to discuss the growing crisis for dental health care. Chief executive of the Irish Dental Association (IDA), Fintan Hourihan, told the meeting that said that the Government had destroyed what minimal support it has given to dental health care in recent years; “The consequences will be huge for dentists and for patients alike,” he said. The main features of the Budget for 2010 which were announced in December with direct significance for dentists are: · The Dental Treatment Benefit Scheme will be restricted to cover free examination only from January 2010. · Spending on medical card scheme (for those unable to pay for their treatment) to be restricted to 2008 levels. In 2008. DTSS expenditure amounted to €63m while it was otherwise expected to rise in 2010 to €93m · Professional fees paid to dentists participating in the DTSS and DTBS are to be reviewed · Salaries for public dental surgeons and other state-employed dentists are to fall by between 5% and 8%. The Irish Dental Association has warned that Medical Card patients are facing waiting lists for dental treatment for the first time in the history of the State as a result of the cap on spending for medical card patients seeking dental treatment in yesterday's budget. The Association also warned that the budget had effectively killed off the PRSI scheme for dental benefits for people at work despite the fact that millions of people have been paying the State every week for this 'insurance' for years. Speaking in December, the Chief Executive of the Irish Dental Association, Fintan Hourihan, said that the budget would decimate the dental profession; "for dentists and dental patients, this budget is an unmitigated disaster and my members are extremely angry and disappointed; payments to support Medical Card treatments are being slashed by 35% and PRSI scheme payments to dentists will be down a massive 80%." Hourihan warned that as a result of the budget double whammy, recent improvements in dental health will soon be reversed. In addition, he warned that there will undoubtedly be job losses in dental practices. Hourihan also said that the cuts would undo millions of euro of investment by the State in dentistry; "the State has paid millions of euro to raise standards of oral health and to educate a generation of some of Europe's most skilled dentists and now they're forcing them to leave this country and work abroad."