Laois special needs boy’s six-year wait for dental Treatment

A BOY with special needs who had to wait for six years to receive crucial dental treatment has had his case raised at a recent meeting of the Dail by Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley who slammed the situation as an egregious example of medical neglect.

Speaking during a Dail debate on improving dental services, Deputy Stanley said: “Those who can only have dental treatment under general anaesthetic are really being neglected. I have dealt with a number of cases where people have waited years for hospital access. In one case, not 100 miles from the Minister of State's own house in Laois, a boy has been waiting six years for treatment under general anaesthetic. This child is non-verbal and has serious inflammatory disease. He is in constant pain. This is medical neglect and it is not good enough..” 

Deputy Stanley highlighted how only after repeated representations did the boy finally receive dental treatment; the treatment in question removed some of the teeth but there is still very advanced decay and infection left to address which will, sadly but in all likelihood, result in him losing those teeth.

Expanding on from this sad story, the TD highlighted how the school dental scheme must be the foundation of a public dental scheme; if that fails, he argued , the whole system fails. And while the dental health system appears to be under strain across the country, the TD said the Taoiseach did acknowledge that Laois was a particular black spot. 

Deouty Stanley explained: “The dental treatment services scheme (DTSS) is 95% non-existent. There is just one dentist from Carlow providing this service in a community centre in Killeshin on the Laois-Carlow border. It is impossible for 95% of medical card patients to get treatment under the DTSS, the scheme that is supposed to cater for them. No other dentist will take on new patients.” 

The DTSS scheme is PRSI based, and only provides workers and families with cover for a cleaning and examination, not short-term or prolonged treatment. According to research conducted by the Irish Dental Association, the Republic is estimated to need at least 500 additional public dentists immediately.

The fact is that, as a State, we have failed. Successive governments have failed to put a public dental system in place. Those with special needs have been failed, as have those with medical cards. … We are supposed to arrive at the full implementation of Sláintecare and a public health system within 18 months but, of course, we are nowhere near that. This should form part of it”.