Dentists have expressed serious concern about the decline in dental treatments being provided under the medical card scheme.

Last year, medical card holders had cover for non-emergency dental care removed. Now, new figures from the HSE show that as a result of that, the number of treatments, such as cleanings, fillings and extractions, which took place in the first two months of this year, fell by 40% when compared with the same period last year - from 227,325 treatments to 137,004.

The figures for more complex treatments, such as root canal work and providing or repairing dentures, fell by 69% in this period - from 22,250 to 6,944.

According to the Irish Dental Association's (IDA) vice president elect, Dr Andrew Bolas, this fall in treatment numbers shows that it is imperative that the new government re-instate the medical card scheme in full as promised in its Programme for Government.

"Our fear is that hundreds of thousands of people are no longer receiving appropriate dental care. This has very serious implications for the dental heath of the nation and indeed will lead to significant expenditure in the future as patients will require more extensive and expensive treatment," Dr Bolas commented.

He noted that the new government has promised to reinstate the medical card scheme and to review the PRSI dental scheme. The PRSI scheme was also reduced last year to only cover the cost of an annual check-up. This means that subsidies for other treatments, such as fillings and extractions, have been removed despite the fact that people who use this scheme are paying increased social insurance charges.

Dr Bolas also noted that the new government had promised to fill the post of chief dental officer as soon as possible, a position that has remained vacant for almost a decade.

Meanwhile, the IDA also claimed that the moratorium imposed on the HSE by the Department of Finance is affecting the dental care of young people. It said that the HSE's dental departments, which primarily look after those under the age of 16 and those with special needs, cannot carry out the necessary checks on these groups because of understaffing.

"In an ideal, fully staffed service, children in national schools are screened three times, usually in 1st, 4th and 6th class. With the staffing shortages created by the moratorium, many areas only have the resources to screen one class and can only provide emergency treatment to the rest of the children in their area.

"For those with special needs, the situation is even worse as the moratorium is preventing many areas from having a senior dentist, trained in dealing with the dental problems these clients present with," Dr Bolas explained.

He described the moratorium as a short sighted measure, which will lead to undue pain and frustration for children.

"While the moratorium might save a few euro right now, how much will it cost - in human and financial terms - to put right all the missed opportunities we have at present."

The comments were made at the IDA's annual conference, which is taking place in Cavan.