Teens wait for years for orthodontic treatment

Teenagers in Galway are so long waiting for orthodontic treatment in some cases they reach 18 and 19 before they get braces, the Health Service Executive has conceded.

The recommended age group for braces is ten to fourteen, when permanent teeth have formed, but orthodontic waiting lists are so long in Galway, many are young adults before they get treatment.

The HSE confirmed that children and teenagers are waiting between three and four months to get an assessment of whether they need orthodontic treatment.

And if it is found that they do, then the waiting time for treatment is three years or more.

In a small number of cases, there is a ‘priority list’ depending on the severity of the case or if treatment is dependent on growth, and these children can skip the queue – but they still have to wait twenty months, the HSE said.

The waiting times were confirmed by Tony Canavan, chief operating officer at Saolta university hospitals group, who admitted that there was “no good news story” in relation to orthodontics in Galway.

Previously it was confirmed there are 3,330 children on waiting lists for orthodontic treatment in Galway and Mayo. Some 1294 have been waiting for between a year and two years and over 450 have been waiting over two years for treatment.

Galway City Councillor Catherine Connolly (Ind), said the shocking waiting times were creating an inequality, “between those children who can afford orthodontic treatment and look well and those that cannot afford to look well.”

Galway County Councillor Mary Hoade (FF) said that the reality is waiting times are greater than three years.

Mr Canavan conceded there has been a surge in demand for orthodontics and “we don’t have enough staff to meet the demand”.

He confirmed that teenagers could be 18 or over by the time they get seen, and that the recommended time for treatment is in the early teens.

Mr Canavan said the HSE was lucky to recruit a consultant orthodontic three years ago but there is a need to hire another one to help to clear the waiting list. It is a specialist area he said, and is therefore very difficult to recruit.