Orthodontic service ‘on the verge of collapse’

ORTHODONTIC treatment in some areas is on “the verge of collapse” and children are at risk of being damaged because dentists training to be orthodontists are not being replaced.

Consultant Orthodontist Dr Ian O’Dowling says he has been forced to close the five-year waiting list in Cork and Kerry, and is hanging on a protracted recruitment process set up to replace departing dentists.

He says he was delighted that this week two dentists were able to take up places at the Cork Dental School, but he has had no time to find new staff to absorb the 1,000 orthodontic patients they had on their books.