Michelle Higgins (14) is an example of a child who has been refused orthodontic treatment, despite having a problem that would obviously cause much distress to any young person.
The letters that have passed between professionals dealing with her case, where there is argument over the extent of a protusion point to a system desperate to keep as many children as possible off waiting lists.
There are many other children in similar situations. Mayo TD Michael Ring, who has been highlighting this issue, was able to provide the names of at least five other families in the Westport area alone who wanted to talk publicly about their cases.
Michelle's mother, Mary, is angry and exasperated. She says that Michelle simply "can't be left like that for the rest of her life".
Michelle's teeth are not just overcrowded in the normal sense. She has two teeth at either side of the front of her mouth that come out of her gum at a much higher level than her other teeth. It is very obvious that she has become self-conscious.
She says she always thinks of it "any time I laugh or when a picture is being taken".
Mary Higgins says she was shocked when Michelle was refused treatment by the orthodontic service in Galway after having been referred to it through the school dental system last summer. Her older daughter, who had a "much more minor problem", had been approved for treatment four years ago.
She refused to accept that her daughter was not eligible for treatment and went back to the dental service in Mayo, where she was subsequently seen by the principal dental surgeon for Co Mayo, Dr Antonia Hewson.
In a letter from Hewson to the consultant orthodontist in Galway, Mr Niall McGuinness, Hewson states that in her view Michelle is eligible for treatment and asks that the decision be reconsidered and for her to be placed on the treatment list "backdated to August last year".
A response from McGuinness two days later on February 9th states that he has examined "study models" sent by Hewson and concludes that she does not qualify for treatment "as overcrowding is not included in the 1985 guidelines".
When contacted by The Irish Times, McGuinness said he could not comment because it was "a national issue" and that any comment would have to come from the communications department of the Health Service Executive. However, he did say: "It is the same all over the country, we can't treat everyone. If the Government wants us to treat everyone, they are going to have to give us more resources. The Government makes the rules, I don't. It's up to the Government to change the rules and to give us the resources to treat everyone."
Michael Ring, who has made representations to Minister for Health Mary Harney on this and other cases, says he is meeting "a lot of angry parents" who feel their children are being denied treatment they are entitled to.
"They are taking out loans for thousands of euros to go to private orthodontists who tell them that their children are eligible for treatment, yet they were told by the HSE that they didn't qualify," he says.
Ring says he believes that the issue will eventually end up in the courts, with families suing the State because their children did not get treatment to which they believed they were entitled to and to recover the costs of private treatment.
A statement from the HSE in Galway said: "Currently there is one consultant orthodontist in the Galway, Mayo, Roscommon area who is the only specialist in this area for public orthodontic services and is based in the orthodontic unit in Merlin Park. He carries out all assessments on patients who are referred to him, usually by the principal dental surgeons in each county, he is the only specialist qualified in this area to make assessments as to who requires treatment and who should be placed on a waiting list for treatment."