John Browne
Ceist:178 Mr. Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny) asked the Minister for Health if she has any plans to train extra orthodontists in an effort to deal with a growing backlog of children waiting for treatment.
Written Answers. - Orthodontist Numbers.
A post of consultant orthodontist has been created for each health board. The salary and conditions of service attached to the post were significantly improved last year by my Department and following the readvertisement of vacancies by the Local Appointments Commission a number of health boards have now been successful in filling vacant posts.
One of the main duties of the post of consultant orthodontist is to organise a programme of education and training in orthodontic procedures for health board dental staff so as to more effectively deal with waiting lists for orthodontic treatment.
An early task of the newly recruited consultants will be to organise these training programmes through their health boards. The Dublin Dental Hospital provides training for consultant and specialist orthodontists who are becoming available for employment in the health boards.