The orthodontic workforce in Ireland: a report by the Orthodontic Society of Ireland

There are currently 110 specialist orthodontists in the Republic of Ireland. The response rate to this survey was 95 (85%); one-third of the orthodontic workforce are women; there are 49 (45%) orthodontists employed in the hospital service (including consultants) and 60 (55%) working in private practice; half (50%) of the orthodontists in hospital settings are female; only nine (18%) of those in private practice are female; two-thirds (66%) of the orthodontists in Ireland are under the age of 45; a little over one-quarter (28%) are under the age of 35; of those in the 25-35 age bracket, almost 80% are employed in the HSE. With increasing age, more orthodontists work in private practice; adult patients comprise 28% of the reported caseload in private practice compared to 12% in hospital settings; non-extraction patients account for 37% of the caseload in hospital settings compared with 57% in private practice; and almost one-quarter (24%) of those in hospital practice stated that they intended to change their working practice in the future.