Some Irish children may lose their teeth as dentists working in the public sector are being redeployed to the Covid-19 vaccination programme, the Irish Dental Association (IDA) is warning.
The association claims the redeployment of public sector dentists to the vaccination rollout is causing "irreparable damage" to children in particular.
President of the IDA, Dr Anne O'Neill, said that dentists have “lost faith in the ability of the Department of Health to listen to the dental profession for the good of patients”.
She said the redeployment of public sector dentists to the ongoing vaccination rollout programme will have a hugely negative effect on patients, particularly children.
Dr O'Neill said: “These dentists are willing and able to meet the challenge of being vaccinators, but it is important to state that their absence means a lack of early intervention, a lack of early diagnosis and treatment of dental diseases to both children and vulnerable adults, some of which will result in the loss of teeth for life.
"This has led to significant issues, not least the fact that irreparable damage is being left untreated in our child population.
“If we are truly interested in providing a patient-centred system to support oral health, we must keep the needs of the patient in focus when considering any changes to the existing system.”
