Steady Decline In Number Of Dentists Offering Treatment To Medical Card Holders In Kildare/West Wicklow

Tuesday, 11 August 2026 13:06

By Hannah Kelly

1,354 private dentists offered dental treatment to medical card holders in 2020 - that figure has dropped to 866 as of June of this year

Kildare and West Wicklow has seen a decline in the number of dentists offering dental treatment under a medical card.

New figures obtained by Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne show that 1,354 private dentists offered dental treatment to medical card holders in 2020 - that figure has dropped to 866 as of June of this year.

In 2020, Kildare and West Wicklow had 49 private dentists with a dental treatment services scheme (DTSS).

Since then, there has been a steady decline in that number.

Number of Private Dentists with DTSS Contract (Kildare/West Wicklow):

2020 - 49

2021 - 41

2022 - 38

2023 - 27

2024 - 26

2025 - 25

2026 (YTD) - 25

Along with providing these figures to Deputy Byrne, the HSE said:

"As all dental practices are increasingly busy, the HSE is aware that DTSS contractors may have limited capacity to take on new patients. Availability of appointments fluctuates according to the daily capacity of the practices, with additional capacity limited to the number of clinicians and clinical hours worked within the practice.

"In exceptional circumstances the HSE directly assists patients to access emergency dental treatment by contacting private contractors or arranging treatment through HSE employed dentists."