640 fewer dentists involved in treatment scheme for special needs patients

The number of senior dental surgeons employed by the HSE in Cork who provide for those with special needs has remained static between 2023 and 2025, data shows.

Cork has had 4.1 whole time equivalent (WTE) senior dental surgeons for special needs the past three years.

A HSE spokesperson said a recruitment campaign was live to fill one part time senior dentist position in Kerry of 0.4 WTE which is vacant, but did not detail any further recruitment.

It comes as the Irish Dental Association (IDA) has highlighted that Ireland has lost more than 640 dentists providing care under the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) in the past 12 years, falling from 1,452 dentists in 2012 to just 810 in 2024.

In practice, the IDA believes fewer than 600 dentists are now actively providing medical card dental care nationwide.

Figures previously provided to The Echo by the HSE showed that the number of DTSS dentists in Cork dropped from 246 in 2023 to 188 in 2024 and 192 in 2025.

Fine Gael TD Colm Burke highlighted that IDA data shows also that the number of children seen under the School Dental Screening Programme has fallen sharply, with 31,000 fewer children seen in 2023 compared to 2017.

Mr Burke said: “Without decisive action on recruitment, contract reform, and training capacity, children in Cork will continue to wait far too long for basic dental care.

“Access to dental care should not depend on the ability to pay. Children deserve timely, preventative care, not years on a waiting list,” Mr Burke said.

“I will continue to raise this issue at national level until Cork receives the dental capacity it urgently needs.”

He called for a multi-step approach in response, including increased recruitment of public dentists in Cork; the reform of the DTSS to retain private practitioners, and the expansion of dental school capacity with UCC and CUH along with incentives to retain graduates.