Almost 3,000 children from Cork and Kerry awaiting orthodontic assessment and treatment

There are currently almost 3,000 children awaiting orthodontic assessment and treatment in St Finbarr’s Hospital in Cork, with an average waiting time of more than two years, the HSE has said.

According to figures released to Pádraig O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North-Central, 2,923 children are waiting for orthodontic assessment or treatment in the HSE’s CHO4 area, which covers Cork and Kerry.

The HSE said the current wait time for orthodontic assessment is between 18 and 24 months, and the wait time for orthodontic treatment is between 12 months and five and a half years.

Responding to a parliamentary question from Mr O’Sullivan to health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Mari O’Donovan, interim head of service in primary care with the HSE South West, said that with the HSE orthodontic service at St Finbarr’s covering the entire CHO4 area “the volume of children waiting to be assessed and treated on the waiting lists [is] extremely high”.

“Unfortunately the service is operating under challenging circumstances in terms of available resources and this is having an impact on waiting times,” she added.

Each month there are about 160 new referrals to the orthodontic service, with three consultant orthodontists carrying out patient assessments.

Ms O’Donovan added that “national orthodontic waiting list initiatives are managed through the National Oral Health Office (NOHO) under the national procurement process”.

“Unfortunately, uptake from private providers in Cork is minimal, which has had an impact on the overall number of patients awaiting orthodontic treatment in Cork and Kerry.”

Furthermore, between 2020 and 2025, 156 dentists have exited the dental treatment services scheme in Cork.

Ms O’Donovan said the primary goal of the HSE orthodontic service was “to improve the appearance and function of misaligned or crooked teeth, with free orthodontic treatment being provided to children with the most severe orthodontic problems.”

Mr O’Sullivan said the figures were very concerning.

“I’m very disappointed to see the numbers of patients in Cork and Kerry awaiting routine orthodontic treatment continue to grow, with many waiting between 12 months and five and a half years for treatment, while the average waiting time is 25 months,” he said. 

“Even with an average assessment time of 18 months, children’s situations will continue to deteriorate without any prospect of any type of treatment, let alone any assessment.”

Mr O’Sullivan said the minimal uptake by private providers in Cork was not good enough.

“If the NOHO is incapable of sourcing private care through the current procurement process, then surely a localised process needs to be looked at when the current contract expires in June 2025,” he said.

A HSE South West spokesperson told The Echo: “We deeply regret that anyone in need of our services is facing longer-than-expected wait times. We apologise sincerely — this is not the standard of service we strive to provide, and we are working to address these issues and improve access.”