Mayo is ‘no place to have a toothache’ - councillor

Mayo is no county in which to have a toothache for those awaiting treatment under the Medical Card Scheme.

That's according to Councillor Michael Kilcoyne, a member of the HSE West Regional Health Forum.

The Castlebar-based representative was informed at a meeting that just 20 dentists in Mayo are signed up to provide services under the Medical Card Scheme, while, in Galway, there are just 30 registered contractors.

Councillor Kilcoyne remarked: “I wouldn’t like to have a toothache in Mayo or Galway, you would have it for a while before you would have it dealt with on a medical card.

"You say just 20 dentists will do extractions on a medical card in Mayo. Do we know what percentage that is of all dentists in the county ?”

Breda Crehan-Roche, chief officer, Community Healthcare West, said they did not have that figure to hand but would come back to him with the data at a later date.