Pádraig Rice
Ceist:859. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if her Department has gathered data on the number of dentists engaged in cosmetic procedures; and if so, to provide said data. [57368/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 21 October 2025
Ceisteanna (859)
Freagraí scríofa
My Department is currently working with the Dental Council with a view to reforming the current Register for Dentists. In order to support this, a workforce skills assessment census framework for the oral healthcare sector has been designed.
The workforce census is intended to gather information including the number of registered oral healthcare professionals who are practicing in their registered profession, the location of their practice, services they provide including cosmetic procedures, hours worked and the skills they have.
The information collected from the workforce census will enable the collation of important data to better inform workforce planning for the oral healthcare sector by providing vital insights into the sector's workforce and by identifying the skills that oral healthcare professionals need to provide the new model of service as set out in the National Oral Health Policy.
The Deputy should note that there are currently 3,923 registered dentists of September 2025. This is an increase of 207 since October 2024 and is the highest number recorded. However, this data does not inform us regarding the number of dentists engaged in cosmetic procedures and the workforce census intends to address this and provide this information.