Laois family and dentist go public about decayed dental scheme

An Emo family and Portlaoise dentist have gone public and national to highlight shortcomings with the medical card dental scheme.

The Langford family from Emo and Portlaoise dentist Enda Whelan put the spotlight on the scheme which has virtually collapsed with very few dentists in Laois or elsewhere taking patients with medical cards.

Paige Langford, aged 28, from Emo in Co Laois is waiting to have two wisdom teeth removed. Her mum Carmela said she was told her daughter, who has a medical card, is not eligible for treatment.

"A year and a half ago we discovered Paige had two wisdom teeth and she would have to get them removed," Carmella told RTÉ news.

After being told she wasn't eligible, they opted for private care but the problem has yet to be resolved. 

Enda Whelan, of Churchview Dental practice in Portlaoise, said no longer takes medical card patients.

"I set up here 25 years ago and back then all five practices in Portlaoise were operating the medical card scheme and you could see all medical card patients and offer them a full set of treatments.

"Now it is limited, and you can only provide the patient with the basics. It's basically an emergency service and there's no dentist operating the scheme here now. In fact, in the whole of Laois, there's only one dentist operating the scheme.

"This has had a dramatic effect on people's treatment. It means they can't access routine treatment and they're presenting very late, and they often are in a lot of pain with swelling and inevitably we are extracting teeth.

Mr Whelan told the RTÉ Midlands correspondent Sinead Hussey that the pressure on dentists is also impacting the health service with patients ending up in A&E with problems. He adds that the primary school check system is in "dire straits".