Western Health Board members are to write to the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, expressing their dissatisfaction at the lack of progress on the waiting lists for orthodontic treatment in the region.
Parents across Galway, Mayo and Roscommon are being forced to take out loans to pay for orthodontic treatment for their children. There are currently almost 850 on the public waiting list and many families have to borrow money to pay for private treatment out of the State, usually in Northern Ireland.
Dr Mary Hynes, regional manager for acute services with the health board, said that although significant progress had been made on the orthodontic list over the past two years, there was still a lot to be done.
"It's not that long ago that we had 4,000 people on the orthodontic waiting list. We got it down to 2,000 and now it's under 1,000. It's not a quick fix treatment - it takes between 18 months and two years."
She said the average wait from the time of assessment to treatment was four years, but even if a child went beyond schoolgoing age, they would still get treatment if they were on the list.
The Western Health Board has one orthodontic consultant, a number of specialists and dental practitioners working in its unit. Like other boards, it has always had difficulty getting and retaining staff in this area.
Dr Hynes said that prices for orthodontic treatment had risen in the North and with the current sterling situation, there was a much narrower differential in the cost between North and South than two years ago.