Five Years of HSE Neglect

Published Meath Chronicle 24th June 2015. 

In 2010, the Fianna Fail/GP government removed the treatment of gum disease from Medical Card holders. Gum disease can cause bad breath, swollen, bleeding gums, loosening teeth, pain and ultimately extractions. Despite a 2014 survey on oral health showing it now affects 80% of adults, the current government is more than happy to leave nearly one-third of the Irish population with an untreated disease. 

And don´t think they don´t know! 
The government paid for the above study. Leo Varadkar while Minister of Health wrote, “Oral disease impacts on the majority of the population...the prevalence of dental decay and gum disease remains high. These conditions are preventable…” However, he´s not willing to do anything about it, his mates in the HSE are also happy to neglect Irish health. Although their website admits one of the best methods of prevention is a regular “scale and polish that involves having the plaque and tartar scraped away from your teeth with a special instrument, before your teeth are polished to remove any marks or stains”, the HSE fails to point out this treatment is not available to the vast majority of GMS patients. 

It´s not just about teeth! 
Inflammation in your gums affects other parts of your body; its presence increases your risk of heart disease and it´s also linked to strokes. Researchers have found that men with gum disease were 49% more likely to develop kidney cancer, 54% more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, and 30% more likely to develop blood cancers. Failure to treat oral inflammation is having wider health impacts on people abandoned by the state. 

So, why aren´t people up in arms? 
Unfortunately, gum disease has few notable symptoms until it is too far gone – loose, painful teeth that need extraction. There is also a lethargy within the dental profession to deal adequately with a disease that is so prevalent; the government isn´t exactly leading by example. In addition, successful treatment of gum disease requires a commitment from both parties – dentist and patient. Although I´ve threatened it often enough, a dentist can´t be stood looking over you every night when it comes to floss those lower molars. 

Early gum disease

I´m a Medical Card holder and think I have gum disease. What next? 
Firstly, get a diagnosis. The next time you go to the dentist, ask him/her if you have gum disease – request it in writing as is your right. Once you have the confirmation inform the HSE – best to also do this in writing. Now you are in a stronger position, the government is aware you have a disease that they are refusing to treat. If your condition worsens, which is very likely, then they have a substantial liability should you wish to seek compensation in the future.
In a recent compensation case, a 51-year old man from the North of England successfully sued his dentist when he failed to diagnose and treat his gum disease – he received £20,000 in settlement. 

Maybe the current government will understand measuring people's health and well-being in terms of monetary value can be a double-edged sword.

Dr Don Mac Auley.

The thin veneer

Published Meath Chronicle 26/06/2013

After all these years, the receptionist watched the dentist finally sign the papers. She whisked them up, packed them into an oversized envelope and presented it back to him. He threw her a tight-lipped smile and headed for the post. As the glass shuddered after him, she recalled those signs from her college days in London, grubby signs hung in hotels and guest house windows, often hand scribbled yet still carved in her heart.

Heavy clouds hovered overhead, the air was saturated. A few hardy types well insulated against the elements led the way. Mid-morning breaks never used to be a reality but since the bubble burst he had time on his hands, too much time. Scurrying past the shopping centre he clutched the envelope as if his future depended on it. At least the older clients hadn´t abandoned him. Yet he still felt a little embarrassed when they enquired about business. He didn´t enjoy lying to them, nor to his family for that matter, however the signs were there – flaking paint on the exterior, the patched-up equipment and same-day appointments always available. Most knew his prices hadn´t budged in years; those that complained weren´t sent reminders. After all, he was an experienced dentist and deserved every penny he could wring out of them.

The queue at the post office was moving well until the waves of doubt rolled in again. Suddenly, he felt like an old cloth, once useful but now scrunched up and discarded to dry and wither in some window where one day, if someone should find and try and open him up, he would simply crumble to dust. “Was this envelope the answer to his troubles?” The question still hung on the line when a retired colleague interrupted his thought convention. This good old boy was in great form, having sold up before the crisis, he praised his friend for holding out.  Heads turned as the old-timer worked himself into a lather of criticism against other dentists in town who had dropped their prices, practically foaming at the mouth on the subject of websites and patients shopping around.  “That never happened in our day, eh? If they didn´t like it they went up North, now the Northerners are down here!”

Distracted by the commotion, he didn´t realise he was now hiding the envelope behind his back. Until the old boy spotted it, “What have you got there?” The other retreated, his face reddening with every step towards the door. “Hey, where are you going…and why aren´t you working this morning?” the sentiment squeezed him into the street. He ran for it. 

The receptionist saw him coming. Her heart sank at the sight of the envelope containing the application forms. Those signs from her youth came flooding back – "No Blacks, no Dogs, no Irish". She trembled as she touched her own envelope deep in her tunic´s pocket. Resignation or overreaction, thoughts of family kept it hidden.  The dentist stormed in, refusing to look her in the eye, he casually straightened his sign in the window, it read – NO MEDICAL CARDS.

Dr. Don Mac Auley.