Changes for the better : Ireland's Dental Magazine

Changes for the better

Ireland’s new Government has said it will implement a series of measures to tackle the country’s oral health crisis

As 2025 hurtles along, it is timely to take stock of some upcoming changes that might have a real impact on the dental landscape in Ireland.

Regular readers of this column will long be aware of the Dentists Act 1985 – which continues to be the foundation piece of legislation for the practice of dentistry and (provision of oral healthcare in general) in Ireland.

Our Dental Council of Ireland is charged with regulating the profession – and a look at the Dental Council’s website will reveal the important Scope of Practice document. This lists the various roles and responsibilities of Dental Healthcare Professionals (DHP) including dental nurse, dental therapist, dental hygienist, dental technician, clinical dental technician and dentist.

“The creation of the new dental school at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is one major step in the right direction”

Of note too, is that the guidance that the Scope of Practice provides has the triple-aim of safeguarding the health of the patient, promoting welfare of the community and maintaining the honour and integrity
of the dental profession.

A cursory glance across our EU neighbours reveals that, according to the EU Stat website, the number of practising dentists per 100,000 inhabitants was generally within the range of 50 to 100; only Ireland was below this range, with 45.1 practising dentists per 100,000 inhabitants.

These are statistics with which we are all too familiar. So, what changes can we expect in 2025 that may change the landscape? With the recent election and installation of a new Government, comes a new Programme for Government. On page 89 of the programme, published on 23 January, it states that the Government will:

Implement Smile agus Sláinte
Hire more public dentists
Agree a new Dental Treatment Service Scheme for medical card holders
Expand access to the orthodontic scheme for children and strengthen the School Dental Programme
Update the Dentists Act 1985
Recognise and regulate more dental specialities.

The Irish Dental Association (IDA) has long advocated for more dentists, improved regulation, updating of legislation and increased recruitment of public dentists. In its 2023 workforce planning document – ‘Providing Dental Care in Ireland: A Workforce Crisis’ – the IDA also advocates a review of the dental register, increased dental training and a more modern approach to registration for non-EEA dentists, amongst other measures.

When we consider the above, it is the impact on the patient that becomes crystal clear. Flexible, affordable and timely access to dental care is a central theme running throughout all these documents.

The creation of the new Dental School at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is one major step in the right direction. Announced in April last year, this new endeavour from the RCSI – itself a University of Medicine and Health Sciences – is set to see its first intake of undergraduate dental students in September this year.

The anticipated timely delivery of community-based training – through the expertise facilitated by partnering with the Peninsula Dental School (PDS) at the University of Plymouth – sees an innovative curriculum set to meet the needs of 21st century dental health professionals.

RCSI of course has a long history of providing dental training – with undergraduate training in place from 1877 to 1976. RCSI continues with post-graduate training with the Faculty of Dentistry – and the various Fellowship examinations also.

With a storied history and a modern approach to the delivery of oral healthcare, the RCSI’s new dental school is advantageously placed to deliver much needed new dentists to the workforce. It is timely to also reflect that more than 90% of dentistry is delivered in the primary care or community setting – with the overwhelming majority of dentists working in a self-employed or SME context – such as readers of this column. The future development of our colleagues in dental nursing, hygiene, therapy and other areas is also on the ‘to do’ list – and one can only hope that this (and future) governments will address the growing needs of these critical support staff to reflect the evident increased demands of our growing (and ageing) population.