Vol. 404 No. 8
31 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Health when an orthodontist will be appointed to the North Eastern Health Board on a permanent basis; if his attention has been drawn to the backlog on the orthodontist waiting list in County Cavan and the effect this delay is having on children and young teenagers; and if he will outline the measures he is taking to eliminate this serious problem.
The North-Eastern Health Board have made arrangements with a number of private orthodontists to provide specialist orthodontic treatment for children whose orthodontic condition is of sufficient gravity to warrant a priority rating in accordance with the guidelines drawn up by my Department. In 1990, 595 children, including 174 from the Cavan Monaghan community care area from throughout the North-Eastern Health Board, commenced such courses of treatment. The board will continue their efforts in 1991 to make orthodontic treatment available to top priority cases. They propose to recruit a new principal dental officer for the Cavan/Monaghan area in the near future and to assess at that stage the need for increased specialist orthodontic cover.
