The Government must commit to urgent implementation of the national dental policy, which was published seven years ago, according to the Joint Oireachtas Health Committee report on dental services to be published later today.
The report, seen by RTÉ News, says too many children are leaving primary school without ever having had a dental screening.
It says the capacity requirements to deliver intended public dental services, including for children and special care patients, must be set out.
In his forward to the report, committee chairperson Pádraig Rice of the Social Democrats says there is a "deepening crisis" in dental services.
He notes that the National Oral Health Policy, Smile agus Sláinte, published in 2019, is still awaiting implementation.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said her department and the Health Service Executive are currently at an advanced stage in developing an Oral Health Action Plan.
She said it sets out a focused, two‑year programme to improve oral health services, reduce waiting times and deliver meaningful improvements in access for patients, while laying the foundations for longer‑term reform.
The minister said stakeholder engagement is ongoing and the plan will take into consideration the recommendations made by the committee in their report.
The committee's report said the medical card scheme is "haemorrhaging dentists" and the number of dentists contracted to provide public services has halved in a decade.
It details that in 2023, fewer than 104,000 children out of an eligible body of 208,000 children received dental screening.
The committee's report also notes that the existing dental legislation is over 40 years old, putting the public at risk.
It calls for the Heads of Bill, for new legislation, to be published within six months, to replace the existing legislation.
An improved patient safety and regulatory framework is needed, it adds.
Other recommendations in the report include a strategic dental workforce plan, improved system capacity and efficacy, and the development of a modern, general dental service contract, including a public work only density contract.
It said the Government must publish and fund a time bound implementation plan for the dental health policy, recognising that progress has been significantly delayed and that unmet need continues to grow
The Joint Health Committee comprises members of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and Independent senator Tom Clonan.
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