Mr. Fintan Hourihan:

There is. One of the things we as an association do is run a mouth cancer awareness programme. Mouth cancer is an area where dentists have a particular opportunity and expertise to notice suspicious lesions to advise a patient. That is something we do as a charitable public education venture. It is just something we have done for many years and it is very successful. It has helped many people prevent cancer and deal with a mouth cancer diagnosis.

As regards education within schools, we would absolutely love to see that happen. If we had sufficient numbers in the public service, where not only were dentists able to screen children but were actually given the opportunity to address them as a group and give them good dietary advice, as well as parents, that is something that could be done. Many dentists do this on their own initiative. Private dentists will offer to visit schools and speak to groups of parents or groups of children. They are to be commended on that but there is scope for much more that can be done. It all comes back to whether one prioritises and sees the importance of dental health or not. As dentists, we as an association and profession do. We do our bit and we think more could be done.