Please let us have our teeth treated for free on the NHS

One in three children will need orthodontic care at some time but new dentists' contracts introduced this April are forcing practices to slash the number of NHS patients they can treat.

The British Orthodontic Society says we are facing a child dental health crisis and the new regulations will reduce the number of children treated on the NHS by up to 20 per cent.

However, Hampshire PCT says the move will target orthodontic care at those who need it most. The PCT has reassured parents that, with 449 dentists offering children's NHS treatment across the region, patients should have access to free dental services if they need them.

However, some parents feel they have no choice but to fork out hefty bills for private treatment.

Brigitte William's of Downs Park Avenue, Totton, faces a £2,500 charge for her daughter's brace because the Forest Gate Dental practice, Totton, is unable to provide it on the NHS.

Ria, 14, was told she would have to find another orthodontist or go private. Her friend, Kelly Rankin, 12, also needs a brace and fears she may face the same problems.

"It's absolutely disgusting," said Mrs Williams, 43. "I'm really angry. We were always told the brace would be available on the NHS.

"Now we're being told Ria's not eligible because the problem is cosmetic and there isn't enough funding. To be honest I don't know how we'll find the money. Ria is really upset and feels guilty about the money. She has started covering her mouth with her hand and her teeth are only going to get worse if we can't treat them now.

"They are overcrowded and growing in the wrong place. She can't clean the teeth behind and they are starting to make the inside of her mouth sore."

Orthodontist Helen Perry said the new contract meant she was only able to treat around 40 of her most severely affected patients a year on the NHS and she had already reached her limit.

She said patients were classified on a severity scale of one to five - with five being the most severe. Those ranking 3.6 or less - like Ria - were unlikely, she said, to receive NHS treatment under the new regulations.

"I simply have no more NHS funding," she said. "I believe Ria is deserving of NHS treatment - I am just unable to provide it.

"I don't like it but I'm not in a position to criticise the PCT. I suspect there will be more problems ahead and I'm reluctant to put any more patients on my waiting list.

"We're a caring profession and there are caring people behind it who might not agree with what's happening - but it's not our decision. This comes from central government."

Sandra Gidley MP for Romsey said two constituents had complained to her because their children cannot get orthodontic work on the NHS. The new contracts, she said, have been designed badly and make things especially difficult for new practices. She believes there is "a lack of transparency in NHS funding" and that asking children to find another orthodontist for treatment is a further waste of resources.

"For a government that is supposed to be making NHS dentistry accessible to all this seems a very strange way forward," she said. "If young people have an identified need that matches the criteria, the PCT should be funding it. It seems to me as if they are just looking for another escape route. I am still waiting for answers from the government and the PCT on this.

"Even if a child's dental problems are cosmetic that can still be serious. It has all sorts of knock-on effects for self-confidence.

Chris Kettler, executive secretary of the British Orthodontic Society, said we are facing a "crisis in dental health for children".

The bandings, he said, have been around for some 20 years but have never been implemented in orthodontic practices before.

"If we have limited NHS resources we should be targeting those who need the treatment most," he said. "But there is an element of unfairness as people who had been put on the waiting list for treatment got to the top and were then told they couldn't have it.

"I think it's amazing that a country as wealthy as us is facing this problem. The contracts have not been implemented properly and the government is trying to manipulate the proportion of patients we see."

Further, said Mr Kettler, despite a 15 per cent increase in orthodontic activity in recent years, the new contracts have reduced funding to a level it was three years ago.

"We have a situation where dentistry is being run by a myriad of PCT's, most of whom have never dealt with dentistry and have very little experience or knowledge of it. The changes have accelerated the move of all dentists out of NHS into private care and that's got to have an impact on dental health in this country."