Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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394. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children who are awaiting orthodontic assessment, by region, up to six, six plus to 12, 12 plus to 24 and 24 plus months in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4355/16]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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395. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children who have been assessed and are awaiting orthodontic treatment, by region, up to six months, one year, one year to two years and two years plus in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4356/16]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 394 and 395 together.

The HSE provides orthodontic treatment to those who have been assessed and referred for treatment before their 16th birthday. It should be noted that the nature of orthodontic care means that immediate treatment is not always desirable. It is estimated that in up to 5% of cases it is necessary to wait for further growth to take place, until after 16-18 years of age, before treatment commences. Patients are assessed by the HSE Orthodontic Service under the modified Index of Treatment Need. Patients with the greatest level of need i.e. Grade 5 or Grade 4 are provided with treatment by the HSE.

Some 16,887 were in active treatment at the end of Quarter 3 of 2015.

The information on waiting times for assessment and for treatment at the end of Quarter 3 of 2015 is shown in the tables below. The information is collated by the HSE by region and for the intervals as shown.