Dental care funding warning

ANY increase in numbers eligible for State-funded dental treatment would lead to under-funding, which would lead to a reduction in standards, the president of the Irish Dental Association, Dr Charles O'Malley, said in Limerick at the weekend. At the association's annual scientific conference, he said the Government's recent announcement of the addition of those earning in excess of £35,000 per annum to the social welfare dental scheme meant top earners would be entitled to free dental treatment, while many low-income patients still could not get dental care.