Routine treatment will resume this week at the Eastern Health Board's regional orthodontic department following the resolution of a four-month industrial dispute.
The dispute over the contractual arrangements of a consultant orthodontic surgeon, Dr Triona McNamara, caused considerable disruption to the service at the unit at St James's Hospital in Dublin.
Only an emergency service was provided during the dispute, a health board spokeswoman said. However, the dispute had been resolved, and routine work would resume this week, she said. Efforts would be made to ease the backlog of work which had built up. Even before the dispute there was a considerable waiting list.
By the end of December 8,301 people were awaiting treatment at the unit. Of these, 105 were classified as Category 1, patients suffering from the most serious orthodontic problems who require immediate assessment and treatment.
The consultant-led orthodontic service was established in September 1996 and had played a significant role in improving levels of service provision. There were 12,046 on the waiting list in 1996, including 681 Category 1 patients.
As part of the board's efforts to ease the waiting lists, a new orthodontic unit will be opened in Loughlinstown in the coming months, and a second regional department will open in Beaumont Hospital next year.