Sinn F\u00e9in TD for Dublin South West Se\u00e1n Crowe has said that it is appalling that 963 children are waiting for braces and other orthodontic treatment in the CHO7 area for over a year and that more than half of them are classified as Category 5, the highest degree of need.
Teachta Crowe said:
\u201cSuccessive governments have allowed the public dental care sector collapse, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without access to a dentist. Latest figures show that almost a thousand children are waiting for braces and other orthodontic treatment in the CHO7 area and that more than half of them are classified as Grade 5, the highest degree of need.
\u201cAlmost 300 children have been waiting longer than two years while being classed as Category 5 cases, in the most serious need of treatment.
\u201cIt is an appalling indictment of how poorly ordinary workers and families are treated for oral health under Fine Gael and Fianna F\u00e1il that children are left for waiting for years just to get braces.
\u201cSinn F\u00e9in favours greater investment in public dental teams, including dentists, hygienists, nurses, and technicians, to deliver care to public patients. These teams would bolster public dental services and get the school dental screening programme back on track.
\u201cWe cannot leave children waiting years for basic dental services. It isn\u2019t fair and it isn\u2019t right. As a country, we can and should do so much better.\u201d
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