Mr. Fintan Hourihan:

It would be most unusual for a dentist to set up his or her own practice on graduation. It is theoretically possible. It would be possible to get professional indemnity insurance, but it tends not to be what dentists choose to pursue. Traditionally, the route was for dentists to travel to the United Kingdom where they were able to access training scheme places. As a result of administrative changes, that is no longer viable. There was a vocational training scheme here, but it never had more than approximately 12 to 20 places. It was abolished in 2010. Currently, some graduates travel abroad to countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom or further afield. Others apply for work in the public service, but such opportunities are few and far between. Others seek to be taken on as an associate, a fully independent practitioner, seeing patients within a practice where a senior dentist is present. Members may be familiar with the medical model in general practice or hospital specialties and the general practitioner training programme. There is no equivalent for dental graduates. There is no clear pathway.