Access

We are able to provide services for wheelchair users, please advise the reception team when making your appointment of your requirements.

Appointments

You can BOOK ONLINE NOW  or by calling us on 051 421453

We recommend you visit your dentist for regular examinations. Your dentist will always advise you of when you require your next dental examination. The interval between dental health checks depends on how healthy your teeth and gums are and your risk of future problems.

Emergency Appointments

If you require emergency dental treatment please call us before 10am. We will take details of your emergency enabling our dentists to triage your problem and determine what is the most appropriate course of action. We will always prioritise our existing patients for emergency treatment and will then offer any remaining emergency appointment time to other patients.

Cancellations and Missed Appointments

A dental appointment booking deposit is a fee required to secure an appointment, which is typically deducted from the final cost of your treatment. Deposits are often needed for longer appointments or specialized treatments to ensure efficiency and commitment from patients. The deposit is usually refundable or transferable if you cancel or reschedule with sufficient notice (often 24-48 hours) but may be forfeited for no-shows or late cancellations. 

How it works

  • Securing the appointment: The deposit is paid at the time of booking to hold your time slot with the dentist.
  • Applicable to treatment: The deposit amount is applied to the total cost of your services on the day of your appointment.
  • Varying amounts: The deposit amount can vary depending on the length or complexity of the appointment. You will be informed of the specific amount when you book.
  • Forfeiture: If you cancel with insufficient notice (e.g., less than 48 hours) or do not attend your appointment, the deposit is typically forfeited.
  • Refundable if cancelled on time: If you cancel within the required notice period, the deposit is usually refundable or transferable to a new appointment. 

Why deposits are required

  • Reduce no-shows: Deposits help reduce last-minute cancellations and no-shows.
  • Improve efficiency: They allow for better planning and allocation of clinical resources.
  • Ensure commitment: For longer or specialized appointments, a deposit signals a patient’s commitment to the scheduled treatment plan.
  • Address prior issues: In some cases, a larger deposit may be required for patients with a history of missed appointments. 

Should you need to amend or move an appointment you have made with us, we request 48 hours’ notice for the this please. This will enable us to offer your appointment slot to one of our other patients. Failure to give us this required notice may result in a prepayment being taken before rebooking.

For patients that fail to attend any of their appointments, a further booking deposit fee will be required before further appointments can be scheduled. We routinely take prepayments for longer treatment appointments on booking. This prepayment will be used as a credit towards future treatment as long as the appointment is attended. Should you have any questions regarding our cancellation system please call us on (051) 421453 or email us on [email protected].

Payment

Payment for treatment can be made by cash or most major credit cards and will be due after each appointment. If you think you may qualify for dental treatment on your PRSI, please let us know at the start of any course of treatment and have your PPS number on hand as we are required to verify this eligibility on the Government’s website.

Current fees for any treatment you may choose to have will be given to you in your treatment plan estimate. Estimates are valid for 90 days from the date of issue but may be subject to minor changes if clinical need is different from that originally anticipated.

Failure to pay treatment fees will result in the refusal of further treatment.

Our Service

We hope that you will be entirely satisfied with both the dental treatment and service you receive from us. If, for any reason, you are not happy then please contact the Practice Manager in the first instance. Quirke Dental Surgeons takes all complaints seriously and will ensure that any are handled in accordance with its complaints procedure.

Confidentiality

Strict confidentiality is maintained at all times. Any information you provide us with, including sensitive data, will be dealt in accordance with the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003.

ZERO TOLERANCE ON VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION

The practice is committed to providing a safe working environment by minimising the risk of violent and aggressive behaviour at work. The working environment is defined as the Practice premises where work is undertaken as part of a person’s official duties.

The Practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff is treated in an abusive or violent way.

The Practice endorses a ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign for Health Care Staff. This indicates that Dentists and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place. All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. The staff understand that ill or in-pain patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Gardai being contacted.

In order for the Practice to maintain good relations with their patients, the Practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:

  • Using bad language or swearing at Practice staff
  • Any physical violence towards any member of the staff or other patients, such as throwing objects,  pushing or shoving.
  • Verbal abuse towards the staff in any form including verbally insulting the staff
  • Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated within this practice
  • Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted.
  • Threats or perceived threatening behaviour is not acceptable in the Practice
  • Causing damage/stealing from the Practice’s premises, staff or patients
  • Obtaining drugs and/or dental services fraudulently
  • Any threats, abuse or violence towards members of staff while they are not

We ask you to treat your Dentists and their staff courteously at all times.

REMOVAL FROM THE PRACTICE LIST

A good patient-practice relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship. When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of the Practice, that they should find a new practice.

REMOVING OTHER MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD

In rare cases, however,  it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household. The prospect of caring for patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour but who is a carer or guardian of the patient, may make it too difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family. This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behaviour and keeping the other family members could put dentists or their staff at risk.