Can't find the oral surgeon on the registrar!

Michiko

I'm due to see an oral suregon about removing my wisdom teeth.
I also want to make certain I am going to be treated by a qaulified professional.
BUT I cold not find him listed anywhere.
except here **no names allowed or links to names**
So I checked out the <snip> and hes not listed there either
So then I looked up here , the Irish dental association and the dental council
http://www.dentalcouncil.ie/specialistregisters.php
http://www.dentist.ie/locator/
I also could not find him on the golden pages!
he's also not listed on the website of the hospital I'm due to go to get my wisdom teeth removed in, but two other oral surgeons are.
those two dental surgeons are on the dental council list which was updated march24 2011.

Am I being paranoid here or should I ring up the HSE and ask my oral surgeon is not on the registrar list?

"All dentists in Ireland must be registered with the Dental Council (the regulatory
body) in order to practice here. The Dental Council sets the standards for the
regulation of the dental profession in Ireland. There are different regulatory
systems in other countries"

Oral Surgeon

Hello Michiko,
Nice to see that someone is actually checking these registers prior to getting treatment... I am on this dental council list http://www.dentalcouncil.ie/files/Division%20of%20Oral%20Surgery%202a.pdf myself.

I know of the person you refer to in that article and know that he is a locum consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon with a great deal of experience.

There are really 2 specialties here;
oral surgery
oral and maxillofacial surgery

Oral surgeons have completed 5 years of dentistry, a few years of experience in hospital jobs and then 3 years full time postgraduate oral surgery training.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons complete dentistry and medicine, complete general surgical training and then a 5 year maxillofacial training scheme.

There are obviously a few differences in the scope of practice between the two but in general OS is a specialty of dentistry and OMS is a specialty of surgery(medicine).

Both will able to sort out your wisdom teeth i'm sure....

The most important thing to establish is whether the operator is a fully participating or part participating provider with VHI, Aviva and Quinn. This is v important as it could cost you €€€€ unnecessarily...
Briefly; VHI, Quinn and Aviva cover impacted tooth removal (usually wisdom teeth are in this group). If the surgeon is fully participating- you do not pay extra for the procedure. If the surgeon is part participating - he or she gets paid less by the insurance company but is free to charge the patient a top up fee...!!! See a fully participating surgeon!! You can ring your insurance company to check your surgeon but beware as they may deny all knowledge of him/her as they have done with me regularly...

Next most important thing is to check if your particular insurance plan fully covers you for that particular hospital stay. ie you may be fully covered for the wisdom tooth removal but not for the hospital fees or anesthetist (fees can be €1500 or so). If you are not covered for these fees, go for treatment under IV sedation outside of the private hospitals instead.

If you do not have any medical insurance at all and you are having this done in a hospital under general anaesthetic and paying out of your own pocket then you are mad as a brush, go for IV sedation outside of the private hospitals instead....

IV sedation is a very safe and comfortable way to have these procedures done, I use it all the time...

Hope this helps