INTERVIEW
children in schools and bringing them in to surgeries for treatment. Part of the work the group undertook was looking at models in other countries. We identified that where the salaried service targets children at specific age ranges and provides them with care, where examination is linked to the provision of care, is a very positive model. Actively targeting the children ensured that the service was able to identify those who hadn’t responded and we were able to follow up to make sure that they participated in attending for care. As not everyone prioritises the dental health of their child in the same way, the current model has an inbuilt dental public health safety net, which is not obvious in the proposed new model”. Smile agus Sláinte mentions the dental home, but Anne explains: “The dental home comes from the American dental system, which is a predominantly insurance-based system. People who can afford dental insurance can access the relationship and care that the American Association of Pediatric Dentists defined as the dental home. There are very poor public dental services for people who don’t have that level of insurance. The dental home is not part of their public health model, which has significant care provided by charitable organisations. I think it’s important we look at other countries’ models of care to see what works and what doesn’t, but that we can’t necessarily import another country’s model of care or dental culture. Ireland is unique in that we still have the examination and the assessment being done by the salaried service, which has prevention
226 Journal of the Irish Dental Association | Oct/Nov 2020: Vol 66 (5)
inbuilt, albeit under-resourced for many years. We shouldn’t throw out the current model until we are sure we’re replacing it with something better”.
Mental health With new Covid practice advisory notices coming from different organisations and countries every day, Anne says we are on the verge of advisory overload: “There’s an awful lot of Covid dental advice out there. You turn around and there’s another advisory from another jurisdiction that suggests something slightly different for the implementation of safe dental care in the current environment. It leads to great stress and difficulty for dentists as we strive to provide safe care to our patients. “The one social event I attended on behalf of the IDA before events were cancelled was the inauguration of the president of the Northern Ireland Branch of the BDA [British Dental Association]. That was before Christmas last year when I had the great pleasure to sit beside Roz McMullan, President of the BDA at the time, when we discussed her great interest in the mental health of the members. Considering that was before Christmas, before Covid made its little presence felt, you can imagine how much more concerned we are now. “I suggest two positive things for dentists: the first is to check in with themselves on a regular basis as to how they’re actually feeling about life, the universe and everything. We get so busy minding patients, providing care for patients, and