THE President of the British Dental Association NI says dentistry is “facing into the abyss” over Covid-19.
Many dentists remain shut to routine treatment because of the risk of both practitioners and patients catching the deadly Coronavirus.
Only emergency work can be carried out but dentists must wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for their own safety which at times had been hard to source.
“Dentistry is facing its biggest upheaval since the foundation of the NHS in 1945,” says Paul Brennan, the BDA president.
“Increasing demand, manpower issues, older dentists not coming back after Covid-19 and our training pathways have been completely shattered,” Mr Brennan told BBC Radio Foyle.
Mr Brennan says if the right policy decisions aren’t made by the Department of Health, people will be unable to access dental care in the future.
He said he fears “privatisation by the backdoor”.
A Derry woman has described having to attend an emergency dental appointment during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Olga Cathers had to have emergency dental surgery on Sunday after suffering extreme pain caused by an abscess.
Ms Cathers said her experience at the dentist was nothing like what she had ever experienced before.
“You’re not allowed anybody in with you, the place is in absolute darkness and there was a notice on the door saying: ‘stand here, knock and someone will let you in’ and I was met with a dental nurse wearing her full PPE”, Ms Cathers said.
Ms Cathers said she was told by her dentist because of the current pandemic her options of treatment were limited.
“The dentist said my only options are I give you an antibiotic here today and I send you away and see if that helps or I take it out,” Ms Cathers said.
Ms Cathers said she was in so much pain that she felt her only option was to have the tooth removed, which she paid for.
“If I hadn’t of had it taken out, then I would’ve taken it out myself,” she told BBC Radio Foyle.
In a statement, the Department of Health said “that there is a dedicated group set up to look at the specific issues around putting dental services back together post Covid-19”.
“A financial support scheme has been established which has resulted in local dentists receiving significantly more government funding during the course of the pandemic, even though the amount of dental activity has been substantially reduced.”
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