Investing in the nation’s oral health will in turn reap dividends for its systemic health

A “quick and easily implementable” solution to increasing the number of dentists in Ireland over the coming years is possible, according to Fine Gael’s Colm Burke. Simply increase the number of places available to Irish students on dentistry courses at University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin, said the Teachta Dála for Cork-North Central in a release to the media in June.

While the new RCSI School of Dentistry is launching its community-based programme Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme this autumn (see this issue’s cover story on page 17-20), a development welcomed by Burke, Irish student places at either college have not increased in 25 years. The figures he cites are stark; in 2023, there were 61 final year dentistry students in UCC and 46 dentistry in Trinity College Dublin. This year, 36 final year students in UCC and 21 in Trinity were from non-European Economic Area (EEA) countries. Half of the places were allocated to non-EEA students.

Because of the reliance on non-EEA students to cross-subsidise the funding of the dental schools, graduates from Irish dental schools have only made up about a third of those registering with the Dental Council for the last 15 years.

If, argues Burke, additional funding was provided to increase the number of places allocated to Irish students, we would see more dentists working in the Irish system, making it easier for people to access dental services and, in turn, reduce waiting lists.

It might go some of the way to addressing Ireland’s long-standing shortage of dentists. Department of Health’s figures – published in the National Healthcare Statistics 2023 – estimate that the number of practicing dentists in Ireland for 2022 stood at 2,420. That equates to one dentist per 2,128 of the population, putting Ireland in the bottom quartile of OECD countries.

An Irish Dental Association survey found that nearly two-thirds of dental practices who tried to recruit dentists in the twelve months to May 2023 could not fill the vacancy. It means that a quarter of dentists are currently not able to take on new private adult patients, while 59% said the shortage of dental staff is impacting patient access and treatment in their practice.

The number of dentists with a Dental Treatment Service Scheme contract in 2024 was 810, down from 1,452 in 2012; a decrease of 642 in 12 years. The number of fully public dentists employed by the HSE to deliver school dental screening has decreased by 30 since 2012. This is despite a backlog in the number of children awaiting their first appointment. Just over 104,000 were seen by a dentist under the school dental screening service in 2023, a drop of 31,000 on 2017. 

Burke called for an increase in the number of places on dentistry courses and in the funding that would be needed for these places. His bis for an investment in the nation’s oral health is mirrored by the Irish Dental Association’s plea for extra funding to realise the full potential of the National Oral Health Policy, Smile agus Sláinte, and to ensure that a successor to the Dental Treatment Service Scheme for medical card patients is fit for purpose. The new Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, has expressed
a commitment to reform of the oral healthcare system. But the IDA said the necessary funding will need to be “significant”.

As we report on page 8, there has been a €800 million reduction in state spending on dental care for Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) and Medical Card patients between 2009 and 2023. The IDA says that the deficit in funding “represents a lost decade in dental care, which has compounded negative health outcomes for the poorest and most vulnerable in our society”. 

Dr Edward Zuckerberg (dentist and father of Mark) tells us (see p22-23) that dentists should be viewed as being as primary care partners, alongside doctors, in treating patients; ensuring their patients are in good oral health as a requisite for overall wellness. “We live in a world where most view dentistry as a siloed profession, separate from medicine,” says Dr Zuckerberg, “and upgrading the world view of dentists as primary care specialists who are simply physicians who specialise in oral healthcare will also promote this paradigm shift in treatment philosophy.”

Given the well-established links between oral health and systemic health, investing in the former will bring positive results for both and reduce the demand for treatment of systemic conditions.

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Will Peakin  Contact will by email at editor@irelandsdentalmag.ie
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