Keenagh man could not find dentist for urgent treatment

A member of a community development group has highlighted the lack of dental care in Mayo.

Rick Adams, who is the secretary of Keenagh Community Development, said he went through a frustrating time when trying to find a dentist after a recent toothache. He had not been to the dentist for a few years and was willing to pay for treatment. However, he was unable to find a dentist willing to take him on.

“I tried the nearest town to me, Crossmolina, but they were full up. I tried all the dentists in Castlebar and not a single one could help. Next came Ballina and I got the same story, not a single dentist could help me. I tried Westport and still got nothing,” he told the Western People.

Mr Adams’s pain got worse and he contacted the HSE, who told him “there was absolutely nothing” they could do about it. They recommended a dentist in Ballina, who finally gave Mr Adams an appointment.

“When I got there, they found there was multiple works to be done, which I had realised there would be, and explained that on this visit they could only do one treatment, which would be an extraction,” he said.

Mr Adams hoped to make appointments for the additional work but found out that his treatment was considered an “emergency” and now he is back to having no dentist. He said he called the clinic and was advised to “take painkillers” to deal with pain that had arisen from the extraction.

“The serious recommendation from a dental surgery for someone who recently had a tooth extraction and is currently needing further urgent treatment is ‘take painkillers’,” he said.

“I accept if I had been going regularly to a dentist then none of this would have happened but the fact is that I need some dental treatment, and the fact is that I cannot get it anywhere in Mayo, it would seem, even though I am willing to pay for it.

“Why are there literally no dentists in all of Mayo that are willing to take on a new, fee-paying patient?