Last month the Oireachtas Committee on Health discussed the state of dental services within the public health system. Simply amending the Dental Act to allow dental hygienists to perform the tasks they are already trained to perform could have a transformative effect on the provision of dental care in Ireland. How dental hygienists can helpAn important part of the solution to this is to allow dental hygienists to do the work they have been trained to carry out. Direct access would also allow dental hygienists to stabilise oral health while patients await definitive treatment. Granting direct access to dental hygienists would not solve every challenge in public dentistry.

Source: Irish Examiner March 25, 2026 01:28 UTC