Almost 2,000 Cork and Kerry children waiting up to six years for orthodontic treatment

Almost 2,000 children in Cork and Kerry are waiting up to six years for orthodontic treatment, while an additional 2,448 children face a wait of at least 18 months - and in many cases more than two years - for their initial assessments, according to new HSE figures.

In the response to a Dáil question from Cork South Central Fianna Fáil TD Seamus McGrath, HSE South West's interim head of service for primary care, Mari O’Donovan apologised for the waiting times faced by children seeking orthodontic assessment and treatment, describing them as “less than desirable”.

According to the figures, 1,760 children are waiting more than two years for their initial routine assessment. A further 688 children whose cases have been labelled as needing of attention by their dentists, are waiting more than 18 months for an appointment with an orthodontist. 

There are no children whose cases have been tagged as requiring urgent attention by their dentists on the waiting list, and when these cases arise, the HSE says they are given the next available appointment.

A total of 1,546 children who have had their initial assessment are facing an average waiting time of between five and six years for their treatments to be completed, while 305 who are awaiting functional treatment face a wait of 12 months to 4.5 years from the date of their initial examination.

The 509 children regarded as priority are waiting for treatments for impacted-teeth surgery, cleft lip and palate, and other craniofacial deformities, submerged-teeth removal, large numbers of genetically missing teeth, and issues requiring facial surgery that cannot be resolved by the fitting of braces.

There are 1,037 children waiting for functional treatments, mainly patients with an “overjet” of more than 9.5mm, and these patients — in most cases — require braces.

The 305 children who are awaiting routine treatment are patients with teeth described as “significantly crooked”.

Séamus McGrath told The Echo that many constituents had been in touch with him about the delays in securing appointments for assessments and treatments, and he described the waiting times being faced by children as “totally unacceptable”.

Mr McGrath said that he had submitted the Dáil question to ascertain the facts on the actual waiting times.

“Unfortunately, the reply has confirmed a totally unacceptable situation in relation to the number of children on the waiting list and period of time involved,” he said.

“This must be addressed as a matter of urgency,” he said.

In a HSE response, Ms O’Donovan attributed the delays to a “growth in demand for services” and “a deficit in staffing resource”.

As two clinicians have left the service, two of the consultants have taken on their transfers, thus reducing the number of assessments being carried out and lengthening the waiting time.

“Efforts to increase resources throughout and reduce waiting times are indeed our top priority,” said Ms O’Donovan.

“We are actively working on strategies to address resource allocation, validation of waiting lists, streamlining processes, and optimising existing workloads, ultimately working towards providing timely access for all to services.”

Ms O’Donovan said that recruitment for vacant and replacement positions was ongoing, and she expressed hope that these increased resources would have an impact on waiting times.

She added that the orthodontic service had approved the recruitment of a new consultant orthodontist, who would upon appointment increase overall patient throughput and reduce waiting times for assessment.