Asking HSE dentists to act as Covid-19 vaccinators will result in missed diagnoses and treatments of conditions in children and vulnerable adults, and some will lose "teeth for life", according to the President of the Irish Dental Association.
Speaking at the association's virtual AGM, Dr Anne O'Neill thanked Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly for his recognition of HSE dentists' support of Covid services.
However, Dr O'Neill said: "It would be better to know that they were valued for the dental care they provide. "My HSE colleagues are stretched Minister, and now they face being requested to leave their dental surgeries again to meet the challenge of vaccinations while they know that irreparable damage is being done in the child