Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the end of December in the Dublin north-east regional health forum a motion was put forward relating to dental health in children. The motion called on the HSE to make available sufficient funding to ensure all primary schoolchildren receive a minimum dental service in second and sixth class and, ideally, in fourth class as well. The motion comes as a result of the problem posed by tooth decay in children.

Tooth decay is a major oral health problem in most industrialised countries affecting 60% to 90% of all children. It remains the most common chronic disease in children aged six to 11 years and adolescents aged 12 to 19 years. Tooth decay is four times more common than asthma among adolescents aged 14 to 17 years. Cavities, even in children who do not yet have permanent teeth, can have serious and lasting complications such as pain, tooth abscess, tooth loss, broken teeth, chewing problems and serious infection.

My party colleague, Dr. Claire O'Driscoll, has said that realistically, once children start getting teeth they should be seen annually by a dental professional. Given that almost one in three young children drink sugary and sweetened drinks every day and that 411 million litres of sugary sweetened drinks were sold in Ireland in 2014, it is clear the need for dental professionals is only going to increase. According to the chief executive of the Irish Dental Association, Fintan Hourihan, the population of children under the age of 16 years in Ireland has increased by 20% in the past decade to 1.1 million. However, the number of dentists tasked with looking after these young people has fallen by 20% in recent years due to the recruitment embargo. The result is that a large number of primary schoolchildren are missing school screening and their dental problems are not being identified in the early stages. This can have knock-on effects with regard to emergency cases in later life.

As in the case of so many preventable diseases, these problems are a strain on our embattled health service. Irregular access to dental care results in higher use of emergency services. We all know we need to make smarter use of our health service. We need to use preventative measures. We need to stop the problems before they really start. Here is a prime example of where we can do just that.