Health boards in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow have announced plans to double the number of people receiving orthodontic treatment.
The boards currently have nearly 10,000 people on their waiting lists but are able to treat only 3,000 people a year.
If the new plan is successful, the numbers treated will double and patients will get treatment within a year of being diagnosed.
The plan includes:
A £1.1 million regional orthodontic unit at St Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown, Co Wicklow, in the East Coast Area Health Board. It will have six surgeries and will open next month.
A £2.6 million regional orthodontic unit for the Northern Area Health Board. The location has still to be announced but it is due to open in 2002.
Five extra surgeries will open at St James's Hospital in Dublin early next year. The hospital is in the South-Western Area Health Board.
Orthodontists, dentists, nurses and support staff are being recruited as part of the plan.