Jim O'Keeffe
Question:76 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health and Children the guidelines in operation entitling a person to orthodontic treatment through a health board or school scheme. [8545/03]
Written Answers - Orthodontic Service.
As the Deputy is aware, statutory responsibility for the provision of orthodontic treatment to eligible persons rests with the health boards in the first instance.
The statutory background governing the entitlement of children to dental treatment under the health board dental service is section 67 of the Health Act, 1970. Under this section, the children eligible for health board dental services are pre-school and national school children in respect of defects noted at child health examinations. Child health examinations are provided by health boards to children attending a national school.
Entitlement to orthodontic treatment is determined by reference to orthodontic guidelines, a set of objective clinical criteria applied by health board orthodontists when assessing children's priority of need for treatment. The orthodontic guidelines were issued by my Department in 1985 and are still in use. The orthodontic guidelines are used to ensure that orthodontic resources are prioritised for and applied equitably to the most severe cases. When a health board orthodontist decides that a child is in clinical need of orthodontic treatment in accordance with the criteria, he or she is then placed on a treatment waiting list. The guidelines are intended to enable health boards to identify in a consistent way those in greatest need and to commence timely treatment for them. A child who has been assessed and comes within the guidelines will remain on the waiting list until treatment commences.