Nearly 3,000 children awaiting dental surgery amid rise in tooth decay

Dentists are worried eating habits and higher consumption of sugary foods by children during the pandemic will see a rise in dental decay.

HSE public health dentist Dr Anne O’Neill said while it is still early, there is a risk that stay-at-home restrictions during the pandemic have impacted children’s dental health.

“We know that spending on crisps and sweet foods went up. Parents were working from home and everyone was doing their best in difficult circumstances,” she said.

Dr O’Neill said the disruption caused by Covid-19 has compounded existing problems in the HSE’s dental services for schoolchildren.

Children should be screened and offered treatment from first or second class and then at different stages, but this is not happening in full in all areas because of a lack of HSE dentists.

Covid-19 has led to even more problems with a “system that was under-resourced”, she added.

It has been hampered by earlier moratoriums on recruitment and a proposed change in policy which would see children referred to private dentists instead of being treated by HSE dentists.

Figures obtained by Sinn Féin spokesperson on health, David Cullinane, show there are 2,950 children on public dental surgery lists for procedures under general anaesthetic.

Of this figure, 899 children come from Limerick, Tipperary and Clare. The r e are 417 children on the list in Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath.

By comparison, the waiting list for children waiting for dental extra ction under general anaesthetic in mid-2020 was 1,500.

The pandemic disrupted services and led to a slowdown, which was compounded by the redeployment of some dental staff to areas like testing and tracing.

Dr O’Neill said the proposed new policy – which would see HSE dentists concentrating on children with special care needs and more complex problems – has not progressed. She is in favour of the existing system being retained and properly funded.

The new plan – which has stalled over the pandemic – would involve contracting care to private dentists.

“It is assumed there is capacity in the private system,” said Dr O’Neill. “The current system is not broken, just under-resourced.”

She would like the current service to be more conducive to prompting parents to bring their child for screening before there is a problem with their teeth.

“It does not promote attendance early on when we might be able to carry out some reversible work.”