The Dental Complaints Resolution Service assists dental patients and participating dentists to resolve complaints about dental services.
We are an independent service provided by the Irish Dental Association.
Our aim is to resolve complaints fairly, efficiently, transparently and quickly by working with the patient and dentist involved.
To seek our help with a dental complaint email the Facilitator, Mary Culliton, at mary@dentalcomplaints.ie. Alternatively you can fill in the form on this website. If you wish to proceed with a complaint, a written account will be needed either by email or through the website form, so these methods are better in the first instance. However, if you prefer, you may call Mary on 087 354 5842. If she cannot take your call, she will return it at the earliest opportunity.
For patients
Any patient wishing to make a complaint should, in the first instance, raise the issue with the nominated person in the dental practice.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then contact the Dental Complaints Resolution Service.
To find out how to do this, see above or click here
click here
For dentists
If you have received a complaint about any aspect of your treatment or service, contact the Dental Complaints Resolution Service here.
Only patients of dentists that are members of the Irish Dental Association or of those dentists who have specifically signed up to participate in the Dental Complaints Resolution Service, may use this procedure.
DCRS Annual Report for 2024-2025 launched
The IDA Dental Complaints Resolution Service (DCRS) Annual Report for 2024-2025 has been published. The Report shows that the IDA DCRS provides an invaluable service to patients and dentists. Where parties sometimes see no way forward, the Service helps them to find common ground. Mary Culliton, Facilitator of the IDA DCRS, says: “The Service is independent, voluntary, confidential, and resourced by the Irish Dental Association. It provides an opportunity for patients to be heard and taken seriously”.
In the 2024-2025 report, the President of the High Court, Mr Justice David Barniville, highlights the importance of collective support in enabling the DCRS to successfully resolve disputes: “What is also particularly significant about the DCRS is that it has the support of the Dental Council and Dental Protection … I am sure that without the support of those bodies, the DCRS would not have been in a position to resolve the number of disputes it has so successfully resolved to date”. IDA President Dr Will Rymer says: “The Dental Complaints Resolution Service has been one of the quiet success stories of Irish dentistry. The Service embodies leadership, responsibility and respect – for patients, for clinicians, and for the integrity of the profession”.
Dr Martin Foster, Dentolegal Consultant, Medico & Dentolegal Services Team Lead, Dental Protection says: “The DCRS has been a consistently helpful resource, which assists both patients and dentists to successfully navigate what are often difficult situations. As the figures show, the Service continues to be well used”.
The Annual Report is now available online, and you can access it by clicking here or on the image above.
At the launch were (from left): Dr Will Rymer, President, IDA; Dr Noel Kavanagh, Dentolegal Consultant, Dental Protection; Mr Justice David Barniville, President of the High Court; Mary Culliton, Facilitator, IDA DCRS; and, Fintan Hourihan, CEO, IDA.
Facilitator
Mary Culliton is the Facilitator of the Dental Complaints Resolution Service.
She is an independent healthcare consultant and a certified mediator with specialist experience of the management of complaints.
Clinical Adviser
Dr Maurice Fitzgerald provides independent advice on clinical matters to the Service.
Dr Fitzgerald graduated in dentistry in 1989, holds postgraduate qualifications, and practices with Cleary Fitzgerald in Sligo.