SHOCKING - Over 22,000 children waiting on State for dental work in Carlow and South East
Children end up in pain, with swelling and infection
New figures reveal that 22,900 children and adolescents are waiting for a public dental assessment or treatment in the South East, the highest for any region in the country
The HSE assessments are carried out by public health dental teams which visit primary schools.
Community Healthcare Organisation 5 - which takes in Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford - has the highest in the country.
The Irish Dental Association has described the waiting list figures as shocking.
Its spokesperson, Dr Gillian Smith, told RTE that due to delays in assessments, children end up in pain, with swelling and infection, being put on repeated courses of antibiotics, needing operations under general anaesthetic and missing school.