I'd urge parents or anyone between the ages of 14 and 16 years to avail of a free dental care scheme. Very few people seem to know about this free scheme ...

It’s a universal scheme and it’s very simple to avail of. Once one turns 14 years of age, he or she can avail of free dental care until their sixteenth birthday. All you have to do, is request an application form from the County Clinic in Castlebar. On that form, there are a list of dentists participating on the scheme; you nominate one and free dental care is provided until he or she is deemed dentally fit by that dentist. The same person can’t apply again for 18 months so basically one can avail of it twice during the two years.