Donegal dental patients forced to seek treatment in Derry have to buy items in shops as proof of visit: TD

Transcript

00:00Dental care in Ireland is completely inaccessible, especially for people in rural areas.

00:06In Donegal, children are lucky if they've seen a dentist once by the time they're done

00:11in school.

00:13Many of them have not seen one at all.

00:15I know this from experience, having four children, and I would say maybe one has seen a dentist

00:20and the rest have not, unless you go privately.

00:24The Irish Dental Association has outlined just half of targeted children for school dental

00:28screening were screened in 2022, and of those who are seen, many are being seen late, with

00:35almost a 10-year backlog in accessing services in parts of the country.

00:40It is very common for children in Donegal to receive their first appointment when they

00:45are nearly finished primary school or well into secondary school.

00:49The HSE threshold for children and teenagers to avail of essential dental treatment like

00:54extractions or orthodontic work is far too high.

00:58Many children in Donegal are forced to go cross-border to access essential dental treatment, and this

01:04is not for cosmetic procedures, Minister.

01:06This is for essential treatments.

01:08The application process can be complex and confusion, with many constituents feeling misled

01:13or unclear about the eligibility requirements.

01:15Some of the requirements to ensure reimbursement are unnecessary and, frankly, ridiculous.

01:21When you go into the north, you would have to purchase an item in the north from a shop,

01:26which would be a receipt to show that you're actually in the county of Derry or Tyrone

01:31when you're going to the dentist, and that receipt then would be proof.

01:36Instead of the dentist actually filling the paper they don't take, you have to have the receipt.

01:40Some of the requirements to ensure reimbursement are bizarre, some of the things people have

01:46had to do.

01:46Many people are unaware of these requirements, believing that the application and the confirmation

01:50of the clinic would be enough, which is not the case, and many people are misled and are

01:55out significant amounts of money in some cases.