Dental costs in Ireland: PRSI benefit, Med 2 tax relief and the Cross-Border Directive

If you qualify for Treatment Benefit through your PRSI contributions, the Department of Social Protection pays participating dentists for a limited set of treatments. The current rates are set by S.I. No. 23 of 2026 and apply from 31 January 2026.

• Oral examination: €40 paid to the dentist for your first examination each calendar year, including any necessary X-rays. The dentist cannot charge you extra for it.
• Scale and polish: €50 paid to the dentist once a year. If the dentist's normal fee is above €50, the extra charge to you is capped at the difference or €15, whichever is lower.
• Protracted periodontal treatment: €42 once a year, instead of a scale and polish.

Revenue does not give relief for routine care such as fillings, scaling, extractions and dentures. It does give relief at the standard rate of 20% for non-routine dental treatment, which includes crowns, veneers, root canal treatment, orthodontics, bridgework, and implants including bone grafting and bone augmentation.

Your dentist completes a Form Med 2, which is a receipt for your records, not the claim form. You do not send it to Revenue, but Revenue may ask for it if it checks your claim. Refund claims are subject to Revenue's four-year rule.

Yes, in principle. Revenue says relief applies to non-routine treatment outside Ireland if the dentist is a qualified dentistry practitioner under that country's laws, and you must have the dentist complete a Form Med 2.

Before you book, ask the clinic whether its dentist will complete a Med 2, and keep the itemised invoice and treatment records. In Romania, you can check that a dentist is a member of the Colegiul Medicilor Stomatologi din România (CMSR).

The HSE Cross-Border Directive scheme lets people living in Ireland claim back some costs of healthcare received in another EU or EEA country. The HSE lists dental and orthodontic services among the types of care, but only where you are eligible for that care in the Irish public system.

You pay the provider abroad first and then apply. The HSE pays the lower of the cost abroad or the Irish public cost. Referrals must come from a GP or a consultant you see as a public patient. Travel, accommodation, translation and any fee to an agent or intermediary are not covered. Prior notification is optional for inpatient or day case care, and can give you an estimate before you go.

Most private implant treatment for adults is not something the Irish public system provides, so in most cases the Directive will not refund it. Contact the HSE Cross-Border Directive office before you travel and keep its answer in writing.

Private dental fees are not set by the State, so compare what each quote includes rather than a headline figure.

• Assessment, X-rays and any 3D scan.
• Bone grafting or a sinus lift, if the examination shows you need it.
• The implant system and the crown or bridge material.
• How many stages and visits, including healing time between them.
• Temporary teeth during healing.
• Flights and accommodation for each trip, if treatment is abroad.
• Follow-up care with your own dentist at home.

Line up the quotes item by item: the number of implants, the implant system, the type of crown or bridge, and whether grafting is included. Then add the costs a local practice would not have, such as travel for each stage and time off work.

Many Romanian clinics quote in euros, which makes the comparison simpler; check which currency the invoice will be in. Remember that Med 2 tax relief can apply to qualifying non-routine treatment both in Ireland and abroad, so it does not change the comparison between the two on its own.